There is a shortage of referees in all provinces and what has become clear is that the proportion of the referees, who were former players, has dropped considerably. The IRFU have launched a pilot scheme looking to encourage players to take up refereeing rather than walk away from the game.

The pilot scheme is looking for clubs to appoint a new referees from the pool of club playing members considering retirement or non-playing members looking to get more involved in our game. Your Club Referee Officer can offer information and direction on how to proceed and follow up an interest in refereeing.

Anyone interested in becoming the club referee should contact Owen Lydon, owen.lydon@boi.com  or Bryan O’Neill bryan008@eircom.net