Australian Test referees honoured

Test referees honorarily capped for services to rugby

The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has honoured 21 Australian Test Referees at ceremony in Brisbane, with a further 17 referees being honoured in Sydney tomorrow.

The ARU has extended its policy begun in 2002, when it began retrospectively capping all Wallaby Test players, by honorarily capping all its Test referees restrospectively or posthumously.

All Australian Test referees who officiated a match from 1899 onwards were presented with a cap – in the case of posthumous awards the cap was presented to the official's family.

Nine referees accepted their honour in person from ARU President Paul McLean on Thursday, while ten more were represented at the Brisbane ceremony by family members. Two referees were unrepresented.
 
Australian Test Referee Warwick Cooney, whose father Ron was both a Wallaby and Test Referee and was also capped today, said the referees and their families were honoured by the recognition.
 
"It’s a great pleasure to be recognised and receive the honour cap, particularly from Paul McLean, who played in some of the matches I refereed," Mr Cooney said to reporters.
 
"In my time, we weren’t professional referees like the blokes nowadays, so there wasn’t a whole lot of recognition around. To be honoured today is a great feeling.
 
"Rugby’s somewhat of a tradition in our household and my son Peter made the trip up from Sydney to accept his grandfather’s cap.

"Dad’s already been capped as a Wallaby and Peter was very humbled to be invited to receive this cap on dad’s behalf.
 
Seventeen more Australian Test Referees will be honoured on Friday in Sydney where ARU Chairman Ron Graham will present the honour caps.