Bredin taking rise up ranks in his stride
JONO Bredin has taken another step up the refereeing ladder.
Bredin (35) refereed his first Mitre 10 Cup game over the weekend, taking charge of the match between Southland and Waikato in Invercargill.
Apart from the appalling weather conditions — it rained so hard, Bredin changed his entire kit at halftime — he thoroughly enjoyed the game and going to the next level.
Bredin was an internationallyranked netball umpire, who officiated at World Cups and the Commonwealth Games before deciding four years ago he would move into rugby refereeing.
It appears to be a wise move as he has risen up the ranks and Sunday’s game was another achievement.
‘‘I do not really focus too much on milestones in the broad scheme of things but it was great to get another opportunity and you wanted to make the most of it,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a different level again — kind of what I have been building towards this year. This year has been good with club rugby, some Farah Palmer Cup games and now this.’’
The match was played in pouring rain to start with and Bredin admitted it was something he never had to experience when umpiring a netball match in a stadium. The rain cleared at halftime and Waikato eventually won 109 after a dropped goal in the dying minutes from Southland replacement back Scott Eade just went wide.
Bredin said he had really enjoyed the game.
‘‘One thing with games like this in the rain — it is always nice to let the players decide the outcome of the match as opposed to a referee.’’
He felt his refereeing was improving although there were always things to work on.
‘‘I’d like to think I am getting better. Just building on the experiences and learning from one week to the next. But I still have so much to learn. With the levels you reach you have to start all over again.’’
He said the referees this year were being asked to be more technical but it was still producing a good game.
‘‘The real art in refereeing rugby is about when to penalise or let something go. That is probably a shift from netball where you pretty much call everything you see and the main thing you decide is playing advantage.’’
Bredin has also been appointed to referee the Mitre 10 Cup match between Manawatu and Bay of Plenty in Palmerston North later this month and is hoping for a fine day.
As for his ultimate ambition, he had no set plans.
‘‘I am not getting ahead of myself. I would acknowledge it has been quite a quick rise to get to Mitre 10 Cup and I have learnt a lot at this point. I am ambitious and enjoy the hard work.’’
He said the camaraderie between the referees at all levels was great and he was indebted with the help given to him by the professional referees in New Zealand who had shared their thoughts and ideas.
He also paid tribute to his coaches, Jim Thomson and Colin Hawke, who had helped him get so far so quickly.