MANAWATU RUGBY REFEREES ASSOCIATION INC.

History of the association

The Manawatu Rugby Refeere's Association ( INC ) was first formed in 1895. However, like the Manawatu Rugby Football Union, it went into recess at the end of the century. In 1902, both the referee association and rugby union were reformed. In 1914 both the association and the rugby union again went into recess (due to WW1 ) until 1918 when they emerged again. A.M Hunt & A.W Thompson were responsible for the reformation of the association and it has continued to the present day.

Club rugby was first played in the Manawatu in 1882 and it appears that clubs provided their own referees (then known as " Umpires ") . Two of them were A Drew (1882-1884) and J Moffat (1886) of the Palmerston Football club.

Representative rugby also commenced in 1882, with a game between Manawatu-Oroua and Whanganui combined clubs, and was umpired by H.L Sherwill. These teams continued to play each other in 1883 & 1884. The first Manawatu Rep game was played against Whanganui and was umpired by C. Pratt.

In 1891, linesmen were appointed to assist the referee. The first of these was Mr R Olliphant. A similar appointment was given to W. Randell in 1893. In 1891, A.J Weeks went on to referee Canterbury against Wellington, so it appears that neutral referees were used in those days.

In 1894, A.J Weeks refereed the New South Wales team against Manawatu-Wanganui. A.J Weeks went on to referee six rep games between 1891 and 1897.

Rev C.C. Harper was our first referee to control a visiting international team. He refereed Manawatu-Hawkes Bay (perhaps the first Central Vikings arrangement?) against Australia in 1905, and against the Anglo-Welsh in 1908. He was also our first referee to control a North Island v South Island game in 1902.

A.B Charters also refereed the Anglo-Welsh in 1908, and was also appointed to do a second game - Anglo-Welsh v Auckland. The Anglo-Welsh team sailed from New Plymouth aboard the "Rarawa" and arrived in Onehunga without any problems. Unfortunately Mr Charters was not so lucky. He was due to sail the next day aboard the "Takapuna," but a heavy gale raged along the West Coast of the North Island. The night, black with thunder and heavy seas meant the trip was not possible. No boats ventured out and the Takapuna stayed in dock. A.B Charters had to return home without refereeing his game.

Fast forward to 2026, and the Manwatu Rugby Referees' Association is still going strong. We oversee an annual club rugby competition for a variety of grades including womens rugby, and often provide match officials for sevens tournaments as well as supporting representative fixtures (such as the Manawatu Turbos and Manawatu Cyclones) by way of assistant referees, sub controllers, sideline managers, water carriers, timekeeping and television match officials. We meet on Monday evenings in the Rugby Performance Centre on Waldegrave St, one of many different venues over the years. We are always looking for new members to add to our history. Come and join us!