Premiership return for Navy Referee
On a beautiful afternoon down by the banks of the Avon, Bath hosted Sale Sharks at the Rec for their fourth Aviva Premiership match of the season. One of the two Assistant Referees running the touch-line was Roger Baileff, officiating in his first Premiership game after injury and corrective surgery over the summer. Roger has been a stalwart member of the RNRU Referees Society for many years and has worked his way up the ladder to be a Premiership Assistant Referee for many seasons.
The game started well for Bath with their first try only 12 minutes into the match and they continued to dominate the match, with good tries, penalties and conversions. However, with two minutes left on the clock, the bonus-point still eluded them, but when a Sale forward pass saw the momentum swing back in Bath's favour, they were able to launch one final attack. From the initial scrum, they spread the ball wide, before switching play to the opposite wing, where Nick Abendanon and Ollie Barkley combined to send promising 21-year-old centre Ben Williams over for his maiden first-team try at the Rec.
As can be seen in the photo, Roger Baileff was extremely well placed to ensure all was well at touch-down and Bath took the victory 31 - 16, along with the bonus-point.
Roger has been joined at this elite level of Assistant Referees this season by another RNRURS member, Paul Burton; look out for them on the TV!
If you would like to become a Premiership Referee, you can start by training as a Royal Navy Rugby Referee. Contact the Society Training Officer, Gaz Fairbairn at rugbytime@hotmail.com for details of courses.