The return to rugby for clubs was a welcome opportunity for many of the Ulster Society of Rugby Football Referees match officials to get back out onto a pitch to facilitate matches across the province. Whilst most of the matches were at age-grade level, the overriding feeling was one of enjoyment and it was certainly good to put some of the learning from the numerous online training sessions into practice.
USRFR members will be ramping up their preparations for next season as they begin a series of organised fitness training sessions on Tuesday evenings starting on 20th July. Thanks must be extended to Lisburn RFC for allowing the use of their grounds. With their pre-season conference scheduled for Sunday 22nd August, referees and evaluators have much to look forward to as they prepare to return to action as competitive rugby returns for season 2021-22.
Congratulations to Chris Busby who has recently been promoted to the IRFU High Performance panel where he will join Andrew Brace, Frank Murphy and Joy Neville. Busby has been in action in recent weeks in the Guinness U20 Six Nations Championship where he refereed the England v France game in Round 1 and the Wales v England game in Round 4.
Busby has a busy few weeks ahead as he will also be Assistant Referee for England v Canada on Saturday 10th July and again for Georgia v Scotland on 17th July.
Peter Martin is also establishing himself as one of Ireland’s finest up-and-coming referees and he has retained his place on the IRFU High Performance Development panel. He has already refereed at a Rugby Europe Sevens tournament in Serbia and was Assistant Referee for Busby in the U20 Six Nations Wales v England match. He also has other significant appointments coming up.
Chris Lough has made a name for himself on the sevens circuit and is off to Budapest this weekend to officiate in a Rugby Europe Sevens tournament.
It is not only the on-field match officials that have been performing at the highest level. Tim Lowry and Peter Ferguson act as citing commissioners in various competitions in the professional game and have been involved in some high-profile appointments over the past season. Peter Ferguson will be travelling to Tokyo in a few weeks to take on citing duties at the Rugby Sevens in the Olympic Games. We wish him well.
Upcoming USRFR appointments:
| Date |
Competition |
Match / Venue |
USRFR official |
| 10th July |
Summer International |
England v Canada |
Chris Busby (assistant referee) |
| 10th July |
Summer International |
Ireland v USA |
Peter Martin (4th official) |
| 10th July |
Rugby Europe sevens |
Budapest, Hungary |
Chris Lough (referee) |
| 17th July |
Summer International |
Georgia v Scotland |
Chris Busby (assistant referee) |
| 17th July |
RWC 2023 Qualifier |
Netherlands v Spain |
Peter Martin (assistant referee) |
| 17th July |
Rugby Europe U18 Sevens |
Gdansk, Poland |
Chris Lough (referee) |
| 24th July |
Rugby Europe U18 Sevens |
Latvia |
Peter Martin (referee) |
| 26th – 31st July |
Olympic Games Rugby Sevens |
Tokyo |
Peter Ferguson (citing commissioner) |
As we approach the start of a new season, the USRFR will once again be looking for new referees. They plan to hold a new referee course in mid-October. If interested please contact Richard Kerr (Referee Development Manager) on 07493 868388 /
richard.kerr@irfu.ie
Any club coach or school teacher who wishes to take the Affiliate Referee course for the first time or renew their qualification can now access it online at the following link
https://www.irishrugby.ie/playing-the-game/refereeing/club-school-affiliated-referees/
