Women referees make history
February is a pleasant month for women with St Valentine’s Day and all the attention paid them. February 2007 is a special month in the history of women’s rugby as five women referees make a giant leap.
The main focus for this enhancing of women referees happens this weekend.
In San Diego, California, Dana Teargarden will referee the International Rugby Board’s Sevens tournament – the men’s tournament! It has never happened before that a woman has refereed at an IRB Seven’s Tournament.
At Twickenham, once such a masculine stronghold, there will be a Test on Saturday in which both teams will be women and so will all three match officials. England play Italy. The referee is Nicky Inwood from New Zealand, the touch judges Clare Daniels and Debbie Innes of England.
Later in the year, but already announced, Sarah Corrigan of Australia will be one of the referees at the IRB’s Under-19 World Championship – again a men’s tournament.
Women have been refereeing women’s rugby internationals for some time. In 2002 there were women’s referees at the Women’s World Cup in Barcelona, the first time that had happened. Nicky Inwood was one of the three referees and Debbie Innes one of the two touch judges.
It went further this year when eight of the referees in Canada for the Women’s World Cup were women – Jenny Bentel (South Africa), Rachel Boyland (Switzerland), Sarah Corrigan (Australia), Clare Daniels (England), Christine Hanizet (France), Nicky Inwood (New Zealand), Joyce Henry (Canada) and Kerstin Ljungdahl (Germany). There were also touch judges, who got a match to referee as well – Debbie Innes (England), Kristina Mellor (New Zealand), Kim Smit (South Africa) and Dana Teagarden (USA).
We give information on this month’s Famous Five, our Valentine referees.
Sarah Corrigan
A cinema marketing and sales coordinator, the 26-year-old from Canberra, Australia, made a huge impact at the Women’s World Cup in 2006.
Sarah, who has been refereeing for 10 years, was in the middle for England’s first match against South Africa and was the first woman to be appointed to a semi-final, England vs Canada. She impressed the selectors to such an extent that she was handed the third/fourth play-off match between France and Canada on finals day.
Since the World Cup, Sarah has been selected to referee at the IRB Under-19 World Championship in Belfast in April, the first time a woman has been appointed to an IRB tournament other than the Women’s World Cup.
Back home, Sarah refereed the Australian Women’s Championship final in 2005 and 2006 and also the final of the Vodafone Shield.
Clare Daniels
Clare is a 33-year-old sports journalist from Somerset, England, and took up the whistle six seasons ago after the team she played for folded. Clare has the distinguished position of being the first female in England to be appointed as an RFU Level 5 official and is presently on the South West Group.
Her first international was in 2005 when she refereed Canada vs Scotland in the Canada Cup where she went on to referee the final between the hosts and World Champions New Zealand. Since then she has refereed England A, England Students and Holland, before three matches at the Women’s World Cup (Kazakhstan vs Samoa, South Africa vs Holland and the fifth/sixth play-off – USA vs Scotland). Her most recent international was in December when she took charge of Wales versus Holland.
Most memorable moment: “Up until now it has to be the USA vs Scotland match at the Commonwealth Stadium in Canada on finals day. That will take some beating, but I’m sure Twickenham will be up there with it.”
Debbie Innes
Debbie has been a National Panel Touch Judge for the Rugby Football Union for eight years and runs the line for the RFU’s National Panel of referees in England’s National Leagues.
As vastly experienced official of 16 years, Debbie lives in Gloucester, England, and works as a primary school teacher and RFU trainer, as well as being a mum to three-year-old Evie, who was crowned Official Referee Mascot while escorting mum at the Women’s World Cup.
Debbie is a Level 6 referee and often takes charge in the middle for Gloucester Referees’ Society when not on touch judge duty.
At the Women’s World Cup, Debbie was handed the whistle and took charge of the New Zealand vs Scotland pool match. “The World Cup has to be a highlight of any officials’ career and I’m really looking forward to running out at Twickenham.
“It’s the first time a team of three female officials have stepped out on the hallowed turf. It’s going to be a day to remember.”
Nicky Inwood
The 37-year-old tutor from New Zealand started refereeing in 1999 and has represented the Black Ferns in the front row at the top level when she played the game.
Nicky, a 37-year-old from New Zealand, has a Diploma in Farm Management from Lincoln University as a wealth of experience from working as a Stock Agent for Wrightson and on a number of dairy farms. She is now a head tutor in the agricultural subjects in the Waikato, the land of Mooloo the Cow.
She recalls how she got involved: “It’s three o’clock in the morning and I’m sitting in front of the TV watching the celebrations, singing, bands, fireworks and hundreds of people. It’s the opening of the Rugby World Cup – this is it. This is what it is all about! The pinnacle. The dream. Everyone wants to be there either as a player, a spectator or a Referee. That is what I want. I want to be ‘the Referee’.”
Nicky has presided over a number of first class matches in her native New Zealand and was a touch judge at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2002. Last year Nicky took charge of a match when England toured New Zealand and ran touch when they played Samoa.
She has been to two Women’s World Cups.
Currently traveling in Ireland, Nicky is proud to be representing New Zealand as an official at the RBS Women’s Six Nations and will make history when she steps onto the field as the first woman to referee an international at HQ.
Dana Teagarden
A project manager for a commercial construction company, 36-year-old Dana began her refereeing career in 1989. Dana played rugby from 1988 at the US Air Force Academy and has been involved with several national matches.
Dana has been a touch judge for the USA leg of the IRB Sevens, but goes one better this time around as she will take charge of three matches in San Diego next week – France vs Chile, Fiji vs West Indies and Portugal vs Tonga.
At the Women’s World Cup Dana was thrilled when she officiated Kazakhstan vs South Africa..
Dana tells her own story:
“I started reffing my second season playing. A local referee, Alan Osur, ‘threw me to the wolves’ having asked me to meet him at a pitch with my kit and a whistle – I think he was annoyed that I’d read the Law Book more thoroughly than he!
“I referee because I love the Game and I love being an integral part of the match. Every match is different and presents it’s own challenges. Every time I’ve stepped on the pitch, as a player or as a referee, the questions that I seek answer with my performance are, ‘What will my best be today? What fruit will be borne? What will I take away from this to work on and improve?’
“Rugby is ALIVE and you cannot ‘get’ without ‘giving’ throughout the entire experience. My relationship with Rugby is like any other relationship in my life – a give and take, a constant learning experience, sometimes exhilarating and often humbling.
‘As I said before, I love Rugby. For me, the relationship has grown from that first blush of lustful desire so best expressed by the physicality of play, through so many phases and I anticipate that it will continue to grow and change. The day it doesn’t is the day I move on to something else.
“As a referee I enjoy the agony of the intense physical and mental preparation just as I did as an elite player. I enjoy the opportunity and requirement to wear so many hats – high priest, facilitator, disciplinarian, teacher, manager, leader, and compatriot. Being on the pitch is an opportunity to express my self and my belief system, to encourage a positive manifestation of something I truly love, and is yet another way to connect with like-minded people.”
