Refree left speachless after invite to world cup
I was kind of speechless, when I was selected, and definitely excited. . . It made me fall in love with the game more and I haven’t looked back Samuel Taylor
Samuel Taylor’s touch rugby refereeing skills will be put to the ultimate test in the coming months. The 24-year-old from Paraparaumu is among a team from New Zealand who will be helping officiate at the Touch World Cup.
Teams from around the globe will be battling it out, in various grades, at the tournament which is being held in Nottingham, England, in July.
About 220 teams and 200 referees from around the world will be taking part.
Taylor, an accomplished referee, was delighted to be part of the action.
“I was kind of speechless, when I was selected, and definitely excited.”
A lot of hard work has been done to get to the point of controlling the best teams on the world stage soon.
For over 10 years he has donated his time to ensuring people of all ages and all backgrounds can play touch while coaching new referees.
Taylor became passionate about the sport as a youngster when he started playing for Paraparaumu Beach School in a weekly primary school competition at Mazengarb Reserve during the summer.
“I enjoyed the game and meeting people. At that age, it was all about having fun.”
It was also ideal pre-season training for rugby union during the winter.
By the time he was at Ka¯piti College, he put his hand up to coach at his former primary school, which he did for a bit until schoolwork became too much.
But one day he decided to go to the registration desk, at the start of the primary school competition at the reserve and asked to referee. “That’s how it started.”
His confidence soared, especially under the welcoming and family feel of the sport, and he was soon helping referee tournaments further afield in the Horowhenua District.
“It made me fall in love with the game more and I haven’t looked back.”
He’s referred at national tournaments including secondary school, youth, open and masters as well as internationally at youth transtasman and a youth Asia Pacific cup.
Locally he referees adult games at the reserve on Friday nights during the summer.
Being a touch rugby referee requires fitness and a sharp eye for things like off-side, incorrect ball roll, forward passes and more.
“There are three referees on the field which makes life a bit easier.
“There are two support referees and a control referee, and we rotate throughout the game.”
Taylor is regarded as one of the top touch rugby referees in the country and was ranked ninth after the recent junior nationals.
He has a level four (black badge) which is the highest qualification a touch rugby referee can obtain.
Taylor, who referees premier grade rugby union games for the Horowhenua-Ka¯piti competition, is busy raising about $6000 to help pay for things like air flights, referee fee and more.
“It’s fully self-funded.” He expected a busy refereeing time at the World Cup with about three or four games a day over six days. And while he will be doing his best at every game, he has his own special goal in mind.
“I hope to get a final at the World Cup which will help determine a ranking within the world.”
A Givealittle page has been set up to help raise the money to get him to the World Cup.