Referee enjoying living the dream
Timaru’s Jackson Henshaw will don the national colours after being selected in New Zealand Rugby’s 2021 high performance referee squad.
The referees who have made the list will officiate in all national competitions.
Henshaw, who joins fellow South Canterbury referee Chris Paul in the squad, was delighted to live his dream, with the recognition and selection coming after years of hard work.
‘‘This selection means heaps to me. It was something I had aspired to.
‘‘I always wanted to represent New Zealand and put on a jersey that has got a silver fern on it.’’
Living his dream, Henshaw recounts how his career took shape from playing rugby to becoming a referee.
Henshaw played for Waimate and has also been their captain but following a series of injuries he decided to pull the plug on his playing career and make the switch.
‘‘I always loved playing rugby. But injuries slowed me down, and I decided to pick up the whistle and give it back to the community as well as the sport.’’
Henshaw joined the SCRRA and kickstarted his refereeing journey from Timaru.
‘‘I put my name forward to the South Canterbury Rugby Referee’s Association and wanted to give myself a shot and see how things pan out. And since the start I have been completely enjoying this role.’’
Running into his fourth season as a referee, Henshaw always had a vision to make it to the national squad and has now successfully worked towards it.
‘‘I always dreamt about it and I want to continue living up to that dream. I set shortterm goals, took one game at a moment, ticked off each week and trusted the process of putting baby steps in achieving the longterm goal.’’
Apart from being aware of the game’s rules and scenarios, Henshaw attributes interpersonal skills as one of the key traits that a referee should excel in.
‘‘Personally I think one needs to have excellent people skills, connection towards players, game and officials, and player empathy to become a good referee.’’
Henshaw acknowledges the importance of being both physically and mentally fit to cover the yards on match day.
‘‘It is more of a mental game. Success doesn’t find you, unless you put in the extra yards.’’
He will be seen in action with the silver fern on his chest in the upcoming Heartland Championship.
He also urged youngsters to take up refereeing and make use of the resources and training provided by the SCRRA by getting in touch with manager Tristram Johnson (tristramjohnson@scrfu.co.nz).