When referee Rebecca Mahoney was named to oversee the Women's Provincial Championship final, it marked a remarkable and rapid rise for the recently retired international player.
This was Mahoney's first season overseeing first-class fifteens rugby and she earned the appointment to the final with a series of consistent performances in the middle throughout the WPC. It's a competition she knows well, having played 13 seasons of WPC rugby as a first five-eighth for Hawke's Bay, Wellington and Manawatu.
The shift to refereeing followed the path first carved out by recently retired referee Nicky Inwood - also a former Black Fern - as well as that taken by recent Super Rugby players Glen Jackson and Jamie Nutbrown.
Refereeing is a great way for players to extend their involvement with rugby and because of their high level of rugby knowledge, experience of the fitness required at the top level and understanding of what players expect from match officials, they can often be successful.
"I attribute most of my referee success so far to being a player," said Mahoney. "I know the lines, the set plays and I can visualise the plays before they happen. It is quite important to watch the players you referee too. Now I watch the game differently - I'm looking at the referee's reactions."
