Rugby referees honoured

Five of Buller’s longest-serving rugby referees were honoured with New Zealand Rugby Union long service awards at a ceremony in Westport recently.

With a total service to rugby of more than 130 years, the dedication and commitment of these referees had made it possible for rugby in Buller to continue, and both the Buller Rugby Union and the Buller Rugby Referees’ Association acknowledged the contribution they had made and thanked them for it.

Service awards were presented to Kelly Taylor and John Lennon for ten years’ service, to Paul Bonisch for twenty years, while a certificate for forty years’ service was presented to Terry Archer. The longest serving of the group was Norman Crawshaw, who was presented with a certificate recognising fifty years’ service to refereeing.

Speakers at the ceremony commented on the many hours training, coaching and learning that the group had put into the game and commented that this had been reflected in the high standard of rugby refereeing in Buller over many years. Indeed, there were few, if any, unions in New Zealand in which the standard of refereeing was so consistently high.

Also acknowledged was the support given to the group by their wives and partners, without whose support and tolerance, this contribution would not have been possible. In response, the award recipients commented that refereeing was a challenging pursuit but one in which the rewards far outweighed any drawbacks. There was no financial reward, however, the comradeship from both players and fellow referees made it a very satisfying occupation.

The support of both the Buller Rugby Union and the Buller Referees’ Association was acknowledged by the speakers, all of whom encouraged more ex-players, indeed anyone interested in New Zealand’s national game, to take up refereeing.