Welcome to the Western Province Rugby Referees’ Society
The Western Province Rugby Referees’ Society, an affiliate of the Western Province Rugby Union and, in turn, SA Rugby, is tasked with recruiting, training, grading and appointing referees to all organised rugby in the Province. This includes school and club games, and SA Rugby competitions.
Western Province has a rich rugby history dating back many years. But it was in 1992 that the Province took the lead in unifying rugby referees, bringing together seven disparate societies into one cohesive non-racial organisation – the first in South Africa.
The societies included:
- Newlands-based WP Rugby Referees’ Society.
- City and Suburban Referees.
- Tygerberg Rugby Referees.
- Somerset Board Referees.
- WP Rugby Football Board.
- Greenpoint-based WP Rugby Football Union.
- Some members from the Boland Referees.
An interim committee was elected from these societies, members included: Fanie Wentzel, Farouk Williams, Dirk Jurgens, Neville Heilbron, Nico van Wyk, TC Hardenberg, Willem Brits, Gerald Njengele, Frank Greenblatt, Tinkie Heyns, Noor Karan, Douglas Holwill, James Apollis, Harry Abrahams, Paul Dobson, Sammy Loots, Chris Kuun, Salie Davids, Paul van Blommestein and Dianne Roodman.
Western Province, one of the world’s rugby powerhouses, is also the nursery of some of the top match officials and has recorded several South African firsts, these include:
- The first Black Currie Cup referee – Neville Heilbron
- The first Black Test referee – Carl Spannenberg
- The first female Test referee – Jenny Bentel
- The first Black African referee – Louis Mzomba
- The first Black international Match Assessor – James Apollis
- The first referee in the modern era to officiate in an international game that included the Springbok team – Marius van der Westhuizen
- Regularly featuring several referees on the SARRA panels
- Regularly featuring match officials among the Match Reviewing and Television Match Official panels.
In normal circumstances rugby is alive and well in the Province. With around 90 clubs hosting more than 160 games on a typical weekend – plus even more school games – the demand for fit and well-trained referees is high.
If you love the game and are looking for a way to give something back, why not consider taking up the whistle. We are looking for females and males aged 16 and older to get involved. There is a process to follow – click here to find out more – and we’ll do our best to get you on the field as soon as possible.