King Country rugby referee Kieran Smith won’t sugarcoat the job he’s trying to get more people into.

Finding fellow referees was always a strain, he said.

“And we fully appreciate we’re not alone. Rugby is not the only sport struggling, others are in the same boat.”

There’s no pay – though out-of-town mileage is covered – you can sometimes lose a whole Saturday and may have to cope with disagreement from the sideline.

But for Smith, an ex-player, who has turned out on fields from Auckland to Dunedin, where he played premier rugby for Southern RFC, there is a draw to having the best seat in the house.

“I loved my playing days but, hand on heart, getting out there and blowing the whistle and making big decisions in some big games, that’s the bug you catch and once you get a few of those under your belt you don’t really look back.”

The fitness went without saying “but equally there is certainly some law training you need to come up to speed with… you have to be pretty bang on with your calls.”

And when referees didn’t get it right “we just ask for a bit of sympathy. We are human, and we do have feelings, and family on the sideline.”

He has a stock answer for those full of advice – rolled out when a junior the association is blooding was checking offsides at a premier game.

“I saw a grown man get quite upset with something that, yes, was missed, but I said, he’s an 11-year-old boy, you have to cut him some slack, and his retort was, well, he shouldn’t be here, and I said, ‘You’re more than welcome to join us, take the flag if you want,’ but he wasn’t too keen.”

With only 11 members capable of officiating a premier match in the province, unforeseen family or work commitments can mean last minute calls for cover from referees on a weekend off.

“Our president Digger Balme is a well known shearer, so that’s his life leading up to the club season and there can be farming impacts or just general workflow.

“We are a rural province, plenty of players, we just need to find a few more referees to help with that workload.”

There are perks, said Smith.

Sponsors mean zero cost for kit and rules training and top referees can get international assignments, such as James Doleman, Lauren Jenner and Selica Winiata – selected for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“And we’re certainly keen to have more females with the whistle. There are those pathways, but even locally, I have been to the national sevens to officiate and that was a real buzz.”

While the King Country Rugby Referees Association wants more adult sign-ups, he is pleased some young referees are already onboard.

One is 12-year-old Oli Barnett, sidelined from playing by a knee injury and now adjudicating under-13 games and assisting on the sideline at adult matches.

Any hesitancy from coaches when they see Oli on the field had passed, said his father, Mark.

“Now they all shake his hand.”

Smith would love to see more of his kind.

“If we can get a 12, 11, 10-year-old doing some of those really low grades, it’s whetting their whistle… it’s good for their development, and they get used to the pressure.”

Though the job, he said, was not all about being authoritative.

“It’s about having a good, clean, running game as well. We want everyone to be safe and just enjoy themselves.”

Credit:Stuff.co.nz