USRFR members welcomed New Zealand International referee Ben O’Keefe to their general meeting on Tuesday night at the Kingspan Stadium. O’Keefe will be the man in the middle for the Ireland v USA match on Saturday. He gave a wonderful insight into life as a professional referee and how he managed to climb the ladder so quickly to become one of the world’s top referees. Ulster referees also continue to excel at the highest level and this weekend is no different. The action begins on Friday night as the Guinness Pro 14 returns. Colin Stanley has returned after a seven year sabbatical to Kenya and he makes his Pro 14 debut as a TMO this evening at the RDS where he will assist Marius Mitrea in the Leinster v Ospreys game. Mark Patton is on his travels as an assistant referee in the Glasgow Warriors v Cardiff Blues game. There are some high profile All Ireland League matches this weekend and once again Ulster referees take charge of some of these games. Friday night Division 1A Lansdowne v Terenure Johnny Erskine Garryowen v Young Munster Stuart Gaffikin On Saturday afternoon, Simon McDowell returns to the TMO box for the Wales v South Africa test. Stuart Gaffikin hotfoots it from Limerick to act as 4th official in the Ireland v USA international where Roger Cleave will perform the 6th official / statistician duties. Back to All Ireland League duty and the following will referee: Division 1A University College Dublin v Cork Constitution Chris Busby Division 1B St Marys College v Buccaneers Dan Carson For a full roundup of the referees in action in the local domestic league and cup competitions, please go to the link below. There are some hugely competitive fixtures this weekend. https://www.ulsterrugby.com/fixtures-results/domestic/ The USRFR are always looking out for more referees so if you think you could be the next Ben O’Keefe or simply want to give something back to our wonderful game, you would be most welcome to the New Referees Course which will be held as follows: Date: Saturday 1st December 2018 Venue: Newforge Country Club, Belfast Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm Please contact Richard Kerr (Referee Development Manager) for more details Richard.kerr@irfu.ie 07493 868388 As always we wish all our officials, assessors and referee coaches well this weekend

USRFR host International referee Ben O’Keefe ahead of another busy weekend

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