Pioneering ref could control NZ teams
New Zealand’s rugby players may soon have to get used to a different voice in charge at Super Rugby level.
Stuff understands that Rugby Australia will put forward pioneering referee Amy Perrett for consideration for the upcoming Super Rugby trans-Tasman competition, which was given the green light by the announcement on Tuesday of a travel bubble between the two countries.
If Perrett makes it onto the list of appointments for trans-Tasman Super Rugby, it will be a first as far as New Zealand Super Rugby is concerned.
Kiwi trailblazer Rebecca Mahoney took charge of an NPC game between Hawke’s Bay and Southland and 2019, following a Ranfurly Shield challenge between Otago and North Otago, but that was as far
as she progressed.
Mahoney was also the first woman to be named on New Zealand Rugby’s national High Performance Referee Squad, but she retired from first-class refereeing earlier this year.
Perrett, 30, has already controlled two Super Rugby AU games and took the whistle for the Rebels v Reds game in Melbourne last weekend.
Her first Super Rugby AU game in charge was the Brumbies v Force fixture in 2020, but she has been refereeing on the international circuit since 2012.
NZ Rugby currently has six women on its high performance referee squad: Brittany Andrew (Manawatu¯ ), Tiana Ngawati (Bay of Plenty), Maggie Cogger-Orr (Auckland), Lauren Jenner (Counties), Larissa Collingwood (Waikato) and Selica Winiata (Manawatu¯ ).
Even if Perrett misses out on a trans-Tasman Super Rugby appointment on this occasion, it’s only a matter of time before a female referee breaks through that glass ceiling.
In the northern hemisphere, Ireland’s Joy Neville was the TMO for three Six Nations games this year – England v Scotland, England v Italy, and England v France.
The referee appointments for the trans-Tasman competition will already be closely watched after a series of mistakes by New Zealand referees in this year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa competition.
The six-week Super Rugby competition is set to kick off with a game between the Highlanders and Reds in Dunedin on May 14.