League ref hangs up whistle
ROBERT Hicks has retired as a fulltime referee at the age of 40, the Rugby Football League has announced.
Hicks, who has been a member of the RFL’s panel of Super League referees since 2011 and was in charge of the 2019 Challenge Cup final, performed his last duties as a full-time official on Saturday when he was video referee for the Test match double-header between England and France in Perpignan.
Hicks will stay on at the RFL as its director of operations and legal and will continue as a part-time referee him called into the red-ball side that summer.
Pietersen’s crucial 158 in the last Test at the Oval helped earn a draw which saw England win the series 2-1 and lift the urn for the first time since 1987.
He added: “The momentum we took from them one-dayers where KP smashed them at Bristol was unreal. I remember playing in that game thinking, ‘this guy is ridiculous.’
“We had never had someone like him before, we always had good players and fantastic players but not with that flamboyance and confidence. It rubbed off on everyone else throughout the series and into the Ashes.” One batter eager to lay down an early marker this weekend will be Australia’s David Warner, and touch-judge, with a focus on helping develop young talent.
Hicks said: “I’ve loved being part of the full-time officials squad, as much for the team spirit and togetherness as for the big matches I’ve been involved in.
“But this is the right time and reason for me to revert to a part-time and mentoring role, allowing me to devote the majority of my time to operations and legal.
“It’s a wideranging role covering all areas of who struggled during the last Ashes series in 2019 and averaged 9.50 across 10 innings.
Gough said: “For Warner, because he was so disappointing in the last Ashes - even though it was mainly against Stuart Broad - he will be thinking ‘I am under a bit of pressure and need runs against England.’
“What I find interesting is there has been a lot of criticism of Australian cricket during the last six months but suddenly when England selected their side for the Ashes it changed to criticism of England.
“Yet you know on Saturday if England beat Australia, all the pressure will be back on Australia again.”
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regulation, from the community game to the Super League.” Hicks, who in 2019 was the subject of a death threat, says his retirement is not due to the recent rise in the amount of abuse directed at referees but admits it is a concern for the game and he hopes to address the subject in his new role.