International referees pay tribute to the late Paul Dobson
International referees, administrators and commentators shared their heartfelt tributes to the late Paul Dobson – a man who touched the hearts and lives of everyone he came into contact with.
South African referees Aimee Barrett-Theron, AJ Jacobs, Tappe Henning, Cwengile Jadezweni, Jonathan Kaplan, Marius van der Westhuizen, Mark Lawrence, Rasta Rasivhenge, Stuart Berry, Andre Watson and Jaco Peyper were joined by administrators SA Rugby Communications General Manager Andy Colquhoun and SA Referees Manager Banks Yantolo as well as Supersport commentator Matthew Pearce to share their fondest memories of Paul Dobson.
They were joined by New Zealand’s Paddy O’Brien and Wayne Barnes of England in this moving tribute to an absolute legend.
“Our sport is a lot poorer for his loss,” Barnes stated.
Stuart Berry, who made his international refereeing debut in 2013, perfectly summed up Uncle Paul’s contribution.
“As a group of referees, we cannot think of anyone who has contributed more goodness and positivity out of the kindness of his heart to our sport of refereeing over the past 60 years,” Berry said.
Barrett-Theron, who became the first female to officiate a Currie Cup match, expressed that Uncle Paul did not only care about what happened on the field of play.
“He touched my life as someone who cared deeply about our referee performances on the field as well as us as people and friends,” Barrett-Theron stated
Source: Impi Concept Events
