It's back to school for Navy Referees
On Thursday 16 September, over 30 Royal Navy Rugby Union referees gathered at Yeovilton in preparation for the forthcoming season. A series of informative lectures and interactive training sessions had been put together by the Society Training Officer, Gaz Fairbairn. Following a rousing address from the Chairman of the RNRURS, Cdr Stew Kilby, Matt Kiernan gave a fascinating lecture on how the human brain makes decisions and how to cope with stress and exhaustion during a game; an insight into the workings of the human mind is always fascinating. The South West RFU Referee Development Manager, Steve Harland, then covered some re-emphasis of laws that are being stressed this season before lunch was taken by the delegates.
The Society was then lucky enough to have a long session with David Dunn, the Bournemouth RFC Coach. This provoked much banter and good humour, but valuable information was gleaned about how a top rugby club prepares to deal with Referees and their foibles. It was a fascinating insight into the preparations a club makes and hopefully David also took away some useful tips! A lecture about Communication from Phil Thornton then followed, before Paul Burton gave an insight into the trials and tribulations of a Premiership Assistant Referee. The day was then concluded with a Q & A session with the Training Officer, before the delegates departed, armed with a plethora of new knowledge to take to their forthcoming games.
Anyone interested in becoming a Royal Navy rugby referee should contact the Society Training Officer, Gaz Fairbairn at rugbytime@hotmail.com.