Joy Neville: Rugby union referee makes history

L'irlandais

, Promises to Referee in France
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
4,724
Post Likes
325
Well done to Joy Neville.:clap:
Baseball coach said:
The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a [wo]man's determination.

An example to us all, not to get discouraged.
She said a less-than-encouraging conversation with a senior rugby official had only strengthened her determination to succeed. "I said 'look, I want your opinion on something, I have one question - do you think it's possible for a female referee to ref in division 1A in Ireland', and he said 'Joy, not in my lifetime'".
Her appointment to referee the Pro14 match between Ulster and South Africa's Southern Kings has cemented her place in history


Read more at source: BBC article
 

L'irlandais

, Promises to Referee in France
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
4,724
Post Likes
325
Oddly, one has to scroll down to the bottom of this match report to find the video clip of the above interview.
Excellent interview.
At the 2014 Womens Rugby World Cup in Paris, she decided to give her ref’ing another 3 months before packing it in. She wasn’t enjoying it, because after 11 years of International rugby she wanted to be competitive at a much higher level. In those months, she came to realise mistakes happen, she stop trying to be a perfectionist and started enjoying taking charge of games. The rest is history
.
 
Last edited:

Marc Wakeham


Referees in Wales
Joined
Jan 5, 2018
Messages
2,778
Post Likes
842
Current Referee grade:
Level 2
By all accounts a very good display in the PRO O'14 last night. She is building nicely.
 
Top