Ballard marches to Georgia
Neil Ballard of Cardiff is off to Tblissi, the capital of Georgia to referee a European Nations Cup match between great rivals Georgia and Romania, and he is looking forward to it.
Georgia currently top the “Six Nations B” which is now played over two seasons. This will be the second encounter for the two. In the first one the Lelos of Georgia beat the Oaks of Romania in Bucharest. The two countries play for the Antrim Cup, named after a saint common to both countries.
It will be a long and awkward journey for Neil and his touch judges, David Williams and Wayne Davies. Flights from Cardiff to Tblissi do not exist. Instead the Welsh trio will board a flight at Heathrow on Thursday evening and reach Tblissi just after five on Friday morning, when it is likely to be well below freezing. On Monday they will make the return journey, leaving Tblissi at five in the morning and getting to Heathrow at half past eight. Then they head back to Cardiff.
It is a long way for a referee whose longest journey is over the Lougher to Llanelli or over to Galway for a Magners League match or up to Edinburgh or over to Agen for a European Championship match when Viadana came to play. He has had Under-21 internationals in France and Italy and been to Heidelberg on the Rhine for a World Cup qualifier between Spain and Germany, but Tblissi is further than Heidelberg. But he was close when he refereed Ukraine vs Russia in Odessa in 2006.
Asked about the match Neil said: “I am very honoured to be doing this game and am looking forward to it immensely. I hope that this wont be my last international but if it is I intend to enjoy it. As referees have always said treat each trip as if it is your last one then you wont be disappointed.”
Born in Cardiff on 4 November 1963, Neil Anthony Ballard is not a youthful whizz kid but reckons that he has some more seasons left in his refereeing legs. He says: “At my age I just want to carry on as long as possible at the level I am refereeing now which hopefully will be another four or five seasons.”
Neil was educated at Lady Mary Catholic High School (now Corpus Christi) in Cardiff, which is also his children’s school. An accountant by profession he is a partner with Malcolm Lewis in a firm called Lewis Ballard.
Neil played for his school’s 1st XV and then for St Joseph’s RFC also at 1st XV level. He also played for a while for Cross Keys, Pontypridd and Glamorgan Wanderers, and is now the treasurer of St Joseph’s and the club’s mini-rugby Chairman.
As is often the case, injury suggested refereeing as a playing option – that and an accountant’s prudence. “I started refereeing after being knocked out playing two or three times in one season. The doctors advised me to stop as otherwise a bad blow in the wrong place could kill me! A no-brainer to stop really!. I went on the committee of St Joseph’s for a month but decided I would end up alcoholic and divorced with the amount of time spent in the club!’! My father Bernard had previously refereed at district level and so I decided to follow in his footsteps. This all happened in 1987.”
Twenty years later he is still enjoying refereeing. “I gradually made my way through the ranks within Wales and have enjoyed every minute of it. I have refereed at Magners League and European Challenge Cup level as well as a few world cup qualifiers.”
Help along the way? “We have been very lucky in Wales over the years but a great help to me in my early years of refereeing have been Malcolm Thomas OBE and my old physics teacher Ken Brackston, who was also a referee. Obviously Derek Bevan was a great example as is Gareth Simmonds who was a very good referee who deserved more games at the top level than he got in my opinion.”
Highlights? “I have enjoyed many things during my career especially the friends I have made. Too many highlights to mention as they are all special memories.”
The family enjoys rugby. Neil and Janet, whom he married in 1985, have four children – Christopher, Rachel, Owen and Liam. Rachel plays for Warwick University and Liam for his school and for St Joseph’s. The other two boys played rugby but then slid off to soccer. “All the family are keen rugby followers and try to get to as many games as possible.”
