Rugby: Referees introduce new 'poster boys'

Former rugby players Hugh Reed (left) sports the new warm-up uniform while Tipene Cottrell dons the new game uniform. Photo / Duncan Brown

Guess who have made the most high-profile transfers in the build-up to the Hawke's Bay premier club rugby season?

You'll get a Moro bar for suggesting the transfer of former Magpie and All Black Sevens player Trinity Spooner-Neera from Havelock North to Napier Technical. But you'll get first prize for suggesting the switch to the refereeing ranks of former Magpie and 2008 New Zealand under-20 world champion Hugh Reed and Tipene Cottrell from Spooner-Neera's new club.

Reed, 26, and Cottrell, 23, were introduced as the Hawke's Bay Rugby Referees Association's "poster boys" for the season when the association's new strip and naming rights sponsor were revealed at a function in Hastings on Wednesday night. Best Travel will be the organisation's naming sponsor for the next three years replacing AMI who had been the major sponsor for the past 11 years. Reed, who played nine first-class games for the Magpies from 2008-2011 and was Hawke's Bay's club rugby player-of-the-year award winner in 2013, has been awarded a New Zealand Rugby High Performance Referee Scholarship similar to the one former Chiefs and Crusaders halfback Jamie Nutbrown received last year.

"I'm pretty lucky. I realised I was never going to make the Magpies again and when I injured my knee last year playing touch I felt the time was right to take on refereeing," Reed said.

The Bay's sole international ref Chris Pollock, Keith Groube and Bruce Dockary have all been assisting former flanker Reed with his transition. "It would be good if I can follow a similar career path to Glen Jackson but I'm happy to take things gradually and hope to referee premier rugby in the Bay within two years," Reed said.

"It's great that Tipene is coming back to refereeing. We can push each other like we did in a recent yoyo test when we both got past the 18 mark," he added.

Cottrell was a referee for six years before beginning his six-year premier rugby career with Tech. He played 97 games for Tech.

"It wasn't a tough decision for me to take up refereeing again. I had shoulder and knee injuries and while I could have tried for 100 games with Tech I think I was only one tackle away from finishing with 98 ... that's how bad those injuries were," Cottrell said.

A professional tennis coach and relief teacher, Cottrell, hopes to be controlling premier games by the time the Maddison Trophy competition starts. And his thoughts on being the man in the middle for one of the Tech premier team games later in the year.

"Hopefully we're not put in that situation for this season at least. At the end of the day we are neutral referees and it shouldn't matter but if it came down to a last second penalty and Tech won you can imagine the reaction I would get from the other camp."

Dockary, the association chairman, is rapt to have secured the pair's services while still in the prime of their playing careers and equally as delighted with Reed's nationwide scholarship. He hopes it will encourage more players to join the association's 50-strong squad. Dockary, who has controlled more than 150 premier games in the Bay, is predicting Cottrell and Reed to both be at premier level before season's end. Saturday's first round Tui Nash Cup fixtures will see defending champions Carters Frame and Truss Taradale host Tech Group of Companies Napier Technical, Northfuels Central host IMS Payroll Hastings Rugby and Sports, Tanalised Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports host Hawke's Bay Insurances Limited Napier Old Boys Marist, MAC host Progressive Meats Havelock North and Tamatea host K9 Petfoods Clive.