Inevitably most of the attention at the Rugby World Cup, which starts in Japan on September 20th, will be on the teams playing the games. For one rising Holt rugby star, Grant Stephen, equally important will be the performance of the match officials: the referees, assistant referees and TMOs (television match officials).
Grant, who is a former Reepham High School pupil, developed his rugby with the Holt Club. He played for Holt from the age of six and went on through the youth teams and advanced to the back-row for the Club’s Second XV. However, at the age of 16 he went on a refereeing course which fitted in with his GCSE in physical education. He found he enjoyed refereeing more than he enjoyed playing and recognised that he had the potential to go further in this role. He stresses that referees learn all the time and pays a particular tribute to Andy Watson of Dereham and Viv Hathaway of Lowestoft for their part in his development.
Grant joined the RAF at the age of 18 and is now a Senior Aircraftsman maintaining Typhoon planes at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. He has now made good progress through the hierarchy of the Scottish Referees’ panel. Over the last year he has had charge of some important games including the under 23 inter-service championship at Aldershot and a Scottish club cup final at Murrayfield. At 22 he is seen as having the ability to go further over the next decade, but he is modest about both his achievements and ambitions. He is more than happy to continue to referee the annual Holt vs Presidents XV Boxing Day fixture.
Together with other referees, the Rugby World Cup will offer plenty of opportunities for discussion and consequent learning. There has recently been new international guidance on dealing with the dangers that can arise from a high tackle (broadly illegal contact with an opponent’s head) and how this is interpreted will be important for the future of the game. Understandably parents of young players will want assurances that the risk of injury is minimised in what will always be a contact sport. One other area of interest will be any differences of interpretation between the southern hemisphere New Zealand, Australian and South African referees and those from Europe. Traditionally the southern referees have been less rigorous in in their approach when the ball has gone to ground after a tackle; this has allowed a faster, and, for some spectators, a more enjoyable game to develop. But, as Grant Stephen points out, consistency of interpretation is essential and coaches demand a clear understanding of what is and isn’t permitted. This will especially be the case in this most important of international competitions.
Grant will be watching the games from a new attachment in Cyprus. However, his former team-mates will be able to enjoy much of the tournament at Holt’s Bridge Road Clubhouse. Those World Cup games that take place on the same days as a Holt First XV fixture will be shown live on the big screen television - starting with New Zealand vs. South Africa on the morning of Saturday 21st September ahead of Holt’s opening home game against Ipswich that afternoon.

A slightly different version of this article appeared in the North Norfolk News on 19th September 2019