Senior A club rugby has first female ref
Former Manawatu Cyclones player Rebecca Mahoney has become the first woman to officiate a Manawatu senior A rugby match.
Mahoney was the referee for Old Boys-marist against Linton Army on Saturday, which OBM won 63-6.
She referees out of Wairarapa Bush, but offered her services to Manawatu since her local competition was a couple of weeks away from starting.
Mahoney is one of the nation’s top-ranked female referees and had her first women’s international assignment last year.
Manawatu in young Canes
The Hurricanes Under 20s featured a healthy array of Manawatu players for their match against the Argentina Under 20s in Wellington on Saturday.
The match was played as the curtain raiser for the Hurricaneshighlanders Super Rugby match with the Hurricanes claiming the win in referee’s time 33-31.
Winiata tries reffing
New Zealand woman’s rugby star Selica Winiata got to experience a different side of rugby as she tried her hand with the whistle last week.
Winiata, who was heavily involved in the Kiwisport in School project aimed at getting more girls interested in sevens rugby, was one of a group of referees tasked with controling games at the Secondary School Sevens Series at Massey University on Wednesday.