Hope new refs donning green jerseys will create empathy

Otago Daily Times

05-06-2025

Volunteer referees (from left) Andy Robertson, Brodee Thomson, Daniel Thom, Logan Boyd and Amelia O'Connell don the new green jerseys at the Taieri junior tournament at the weekend. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Otago Rugby Football Union referee development officer Brandon Hale hopes this green jersey will be the source of a lot less controversy.
When the Highlanders introduced their green jersey in 2011, it sparked a public outcry.
The sky did not cave in and people eventually moved on.
A decade and change later, the Otago union has introduced a green jersey for its junior rookie referees.
The initiative was launched during the Taieri junior sevens tournament at the weekend.
Hale said the idea behind the different coloured jerseys was to signal to the public the referees in green were learning.
"So we'd identified that there was nothing to actually differentiate between someone who's had quite a bit of experience and someone who's very new in their journey," he said.
"And so we wanted a visual representation of someone who's green in their experience.
"So it's more of a subtle nod to where they are at in their current journey."
Hale hoped people would recognise the person in the green jersey was still learning and go easy on them.
Referees do not get a lot of amazing feedback from the sidelines usually.
"It's an indication to our public to say, 'look, hey, have a bit of patience with these referees as they may have only got out in the middle with a whistle three or four times potentially.'
"The first time we do anything, we're not exactly completely competent just yet.
"So we obviously have to have a bit of patience with these people.
"It also would hopefully encourage some more support and good feedback."
The green jerseys have been rolled out at junior club and lower secondary school grades.
Hale said there were 14 people across the province in the green jerseys, which look more like a T-shirt.
The idea is once the rookie referees become more confident, they will "graduate" to a white jersey.
Referee numbers were stagnant in the province, Hale said. But he hopes the initiative will help encourage people to stay involved longer.
"We recognise that the first year of a referee's development is the most important.
"That's probably where we get the biggest drop-off in referees, hence why we've made a conscious effort to really support our new referees through this initiative."