February 2012
Snow, disruption and cancelled matches -well as we have had such
a mild winter thus far, I suppose it was to be expected. The
Society still keeps running even though there are next to no
fixtures at the moment. Actually it is quite a good time to take
stock and we took the opportunity to have an Officer's meeting last
week.
What is an Officer's Meeting -you may ask....well it is a
meeting of the four Senior Society figures currently charged with
the responsibility of leading LSRFUR.
Who are they?
- Nick Cousins -President & Chair of Management
Committee
- Mark Powell - Deputy President & Chair of Appointments
& Grading Committee
- Tim Millar -Immediate Past President, Treasurer and LSRFUR Rep
on the RFRUR
- David Morgan -General Secretary
What did they discuss? Here is a brief break down:-
- LSRFUR Committee structures
- Review of LSRFUR finances
- Continuation of SC sponsorship -any action needed?
- IT and Communication
- Easy Ref
- Web site
- 'Home Affairs
- Assessing / Coaching
- Sevens Competitions
- Foreign Affairs
- Incoming SC Exchange Update
- Foreign Trips and Exchanges
This is not an exhaustive list and I hope that in general terms
it is exactly what the membership expects us to discuss. Certainly
it would mirror similar meetings held over the years and I trust
ensures good stewardship -something that we have inherited from our
predecessors and something that we do not engage in lightly.
To pick up one point -the incoming Standard Chartered Exchange.
I am delighted that we are welcoming six referees from Asia -two
from India; two from Singapore and two from Hong Kong as part of
our commitment to Standard Chartered that we will use some of the
sponsorship money to contribute to the development of officiating
in Asia -which is a very important market for Standard
Chartered.
The Exchange is being wrapped around the National Schools Sevens
based at Rosslyn Park and the fine details are being planned as I
write, but it is great initiative and a really exciting project
which I look forward to reporting more fully next month.
Nick Cousins
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January 2012
I trust that you have all recovered from the Christmas
festivities and are back in rugby refereeing mode. Of course rugby
does not stop for some - Boxing day at the Memorial Ground in
Bristol was a regular feature of the Cousins family routines in my
youth -Yes a long time ago I know.....and certainly there is no
break for our professional refereeing friends and colleagues -I
remember Chris White telling me that in the rush of pre Christmas
refereeing and travel he had left it to the last minute to buy his
wife a present -and so it was that he bought a large bottle of
fragrance in the duty free at Heathrow Airport whilst returning
home on Christmas Eve. Alas he discovered when she opened it the
following morning that he had taken insufficient care - and bought
some after shave!
Talking of great referees, I am sad to have to report the death
of one of London's legendary great referees -Ken John. His funeral
in St Neots was extremely well attended and attested to his immense
popularity in local golfing circles as well as rugby. David Ford, a
friend and contemporary (almost) attended with other 'Golden
Oldies' and delivered a moving tribute which you will find
reproduced in its entirety elsewhere on the LSRFUR web site.
We are looking forward to the Six Nations - a new post world cup
era; a new coach but sadly the same problems with player attitude
and indiscipline off the field. Those words of Willie John at our
dinner keep ringing in my ears......Any way good luck to the
England team and good luck to our own Wayne Barnes who has been
selected to referee the opening match between Ireland and Wales
-which should be a cracker.
I am delighted to say that we had a huge success with our
Assessor and Coaching conference brilliantly organised by Jeff
Baker. Over 40 people attended at the London Bridge Hotel to hear
presentations from Steve Wagstaffe; Steve Riley and Dave Broadwell
-all excellent and thought provoking and all leading to very
productive break out sessions and discussions. Again, there is a
fuller report elsewhere and my thanks go to all those who attended
or helped Jeff put it together. We have come a long way in a short
time since Jeff became the wonderfully 'acronymed 'SADO (Society
Adviser Development Officer) and he is another great example of
those willing volunteers who puts in hours of work on behalf of the
Society to make it what it is. Thank You.
Happy New Year to one and all.
Nick Cousins
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December 2011
For those of us fortunate to be involved as player, official or
administrator, early December is a special part of the year because
it is Dubai Sevens time. Dubai is quite unique in the rugby
calendar as an event that combines the quality of the first stop in
the International sevens circuit tour with a set of twelve
recreational tournaments that themselves attract teams of great
quality from all corners of the globe. There are girls and boys
tournaments; mens and womens; vets and masters; local and
international; charity events and all in three days at a single
magnificent venue with five immaculate pitches ; an extraordinarily
large central pavilion and a 40,000 seater stadium -all built
in the sand!
The event is well sponsored and brilliantly supported so that
you have a very colourful, lively friendly, multi cultural
experience which 'rocks' both inside the main stadium and around
the outside grounds -and most of all at the climax of the
international tournament -and particularly when England win -as
they did this year.
I first refereed here as an RFU appointee in the mid 1990s and I
am pleased that in the present day set up, London provides a
quarter of the cohort of forty international recreational referees
that officiate in the recreational tournaments. The main tournament
is of course managed by IRB appointees -but there is great
camaraderie between the two groups. It is a wonderful opportunity
to mix and match with colleagues from Australia; New Zealand and
South Africa as well as more local and generally less experienced
referees from the Gulf particularly and Asia generally.
For London it provides a superb learning environment as well as
being a great experience and thus we use some of our sponsorship
money to support three referees each year by providing travel
bursaries. This year the lucky recipients were James Sullivan
(SEG); David Parsons (Level 6) and Calum Howard (Young Official).
Under the guidance of 'Captain' Stuey Dillon these three and the
rest of the London team performed quite superbly. Simon Harding
refereed the main recreational final in the main stadium for the
third consecutive year (a great achievement) -and Calum Howard
refereed the Schools final -also in the main stadium and therefore
in front of 40,000 people.
These two performances were the highlights from a London
perspective but all our referees did us proud and ensured that the
Society enjoys a very strong profile not only nationally but
internationally.
One off shoot from Dubai is the possibility of welcoming six
Asian referees to London in 2012 as part of our joint commitment
with Standard Chartered to support officiating. More news of that
in the New Year.......In the meantime may wish you all the
compliments of the season: a very merry Christmas and a happy and
successful New Year.
Nick Cousins
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November 2011
It was my pleasure to preside over the 123rd LSRFUR Annual
Dinner held at the RAC Club, Pall Mall on Thursday 24th November
2011. 152 guests sat down to dinner - a record number in recent
years.
Almost certainly the reason for this was the attraction of the
Principal Guest Speaker, Willie John McBride - and my goodness, he
did not disappoint. Privilege is a word that is often misused, but
not when saying that it was a privilege to be present to listen to
this giant of world rugby share his thoughts with us on this
Thursday night. It was one of those occasions that will be recalled
in future years with the words "Were you there ….." His instantly
recognisable, mellifluous Northern Irish tones immediately
quietened a lively gathering that had been wound up by the
ebullience and humour of the Master of Ceremonies David Kurk.
As usual David had mercilessly teased anybody of any notoriety
in the room including Willie Wildash, the President of the RFU; our
three world cup officials; Wayne Barnes (rugby), Howard Webb,
(soccer) and Richard Kettleborough (cricket) and he certainly did
not spare the Society President! Nevertheless he deserves our
thanks for facilitating everything so brilliantly in his own
inimitable style.
But it was Willie John's night and from the moment that he rose
to his feet, you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.
Everybody listened with rapt attention as he reflected on his years
in rugby. He started with his own club, Ballymena and referenced a
referee not named but familiar to all. He then took us on a grand
tour of his international experiences with Ireland and the British
Lions, recalling team mates; coaches; officials; opponents and
occasions (some known to us, some not) and laced throughout with a
gentle humour and self-effacing modesty that only served to raise
his stake even higher. But it was not all sentimental recollection
and fond memories, here was a man in touch with the modern game -
its strengths and its weaknesses and he also delivered a searing
critique of aspects of today's professional game, most particularly
in terms of the motivation of the people who lead and some of the
players who play it.
The London Society is notoriously generous to its guest
speakers, but the sustained standing ovation for Willie John was a
spontaneous reaction to a quite remarkable and brilliant speech
delivered by a true legend of the game in every sense of the
word.
Prior to Willie John, the loyal toast had been raised followed
by a toast to the RFU. Willie Wildash replied and proposed the
toast to LSRFUR. With the RFU in such dire straits at the moment
and David Kurk in devastating form, the President of the RFU could
hardly be said to be in the comfy seat, but he spoke in very warm
terms about the London Society; its place in rugby and its
relationship with the RFU. He mentioned our previous RFU
Presidents; current International referees and spoke about the
excellent work being carried out by our training team in terms of
the number of ELRA courses that had been run in London. Our thanks
go to Willie for being with us and standing tall for the RFU at
such a testing time.
I proposed the toast to the guests and in so doing referenced a
number of people. I started with tributes to absent friends; Jimmy
Crowe and Clive Morley who had both died in the last twelve months
having given sterling service to the London Society (and in Jimmy's
case to The RFU and the wider world of rugby, and in Clive's case
to the SEG). I asked former international referees, Johnny Johnson,
Roger Quittenden and Tony Trigg to present tokens of the occasion
to the three current world cup officials and then asked Richard
Kelly and Brenda Hobday to present awards to each other - Richard
for services as an 'overseas' member (and particularly to Harrow
RFC), and more seriously, Brenda for her outstanding work as
Chairman of the Middlesex Sevens; which has been the flagship
occasion for us over many years. I wished the present members of
the SEG well in their Level 4 games before closing with a few words
about the guests from our neighbouring societies; our speakers, and
the RFU staff, particularly David Broadwell, Ed Turnill and Mel
Liley, (all three London members who each do so much for London
Society). I also acknowledged the RFU Disciplinary Officer, Bruce
Reece Russell, a former SEG assessor, who is retiring this summer,
and asked Dave Broadwell to present him with a token of our thanks.
Finally, I spoke about the importance of our role in Grass roots
rugby and asked the two Willies to present an award to David Garvey
of the West List who epitomises everything we stand for, not least
by officiating last season in no fewer than 103 games as well as
liaising with our student member clubs, and I gave bouquets of
flowers to the two ladies who graced the top table, Hayley Pearson
who had organised the dinner so well and my long suffering wife,
Helen.
A truly memorable evening made special by Willie John McBride. I
am not sure how we will follow him next year -but we will: and I
look forward to welcoming you back next year, same time, and same
place.
Nick Cousins
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October 2011
First and foremost, my good wishes to you all: I hope the season
is going well for you.
It has been an extraordinary month dominated by two events either
side of the globe that will, or at least are very likely to have a
significant effect on English rugby. They are of course the
continued turmoil that seems to pervade all actions at the top of
the RFU following the publication of the Blackett Report and the
Rugby World Cup which produced such a disappointing performance by
England both on and off the field.
It is difficult to predict what effect this will have, if any, on
the day to day working of our Society; probably very little -but we
have representatives on the RFRU (Rugby Football Referees
Union) - Tim Miller and Clive Nicholas - who will report on
that bodies response to events emanating from Twickenham; and we
have Wayne Barnes officiating in New Zealand, who will no doubt
give us a firsthand retrospect of events in the World Cup.
The Society exists for its members and to serve its member clubs
and regardless of grade, age gender or experience, I encourage
you to get involved in your regions' activities
and events.
The first central meeting on Thursday September 15th at the
Institute of Child Health in Guilford Street saw JP Doyle take
centre stage - and although I was unable to attend - being on duty
with Ed Turnill in India - I am delighted that we had close to 100
people in attendance to hear JP give his usual sparkling take on
the main focuses in the new season.
The second central meeting on 10th November sees us welcome the
eminent psychologist Raj Persaud who will be giving an interactive
talk on the psychology of officiating -with specific reference to
rugby. I can give a personal reference that Raj is a highly
entertaining speaker. There will be the usual gathering before and
after around the corner at The Lamb in Conduit Street and I urge
you to come along.
Also please note the date of the Annual Dinner - Thursday 24
November at the RAC Club. It will be a great event which I hope
you will support by bringing yourself and some
guests. The speaker this year is Willie John McBride, Ireland
and the British Lions; a genuine legend of the game -and a
formidable after dinner speaker.
I mentioned that Ed Turnill and I visited Mumbai in India to both
referee and coach the local officials involved in the All India
competition. This proved to be a memorable and wonderfully
rewarding trip -and I hope sincerely that we will be able to
maintain a close relationship with the Indian referees and look
forward to welcoming them to London in the New Year.
Congratulations and thanks to Gary Fielder who was appointed to
the Swedish Cup Final in Stockholm.
Congratulations and thanks also to Gary Dibden, Mark Jackson and
the team of officials that made the annual trek to Ipswich for the
St Joseph's Festival -this year celebrating its 25th year.
Finally I draw attention to our sponsors Standard Chartered Bank
and to the fact that our sponsorship allows us to support
you - all members and I hope that
you are all wearing the Society 'hoody' which has
been made available to all signed up active members courtesy of
Standard Chartered Bank.
Good luck with your officiating at whatever level you operate - we
rely on you.
Thank You
Nick Cousins
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September 2011
First and foremost, my good wishes to you all as another season
dawns.
It is a privilege and a pleasure to begin my stint as President of
the London Society and I am looking forward to leading us through
another successful and enjoyable season.
How do we measure success? It is not just about celebrating our
IRB Officials although it goes without saying that we wish them all
well - and particularly at this moment Wayne Barnes as one of the
elite group of 12 referees at the forthcoming World Cup. Similarly,
it is not just about celebrating our PNR or SEG officials, although
we congratulate particularly Rob Warburton, Mark Jackson, Crispin
Davis and Stuart Dillon who are this year's new PNR members, and
Veryan Boscawen who has joined SEG. It is actually more about the
local scene - ensuring that each of our six components (North;
South East; South West; West; Premier List and Mid week) can meet
the requirements of their clubs and schools - and since these
requirements are increasing year on year it is all about
consolidated recruitment and retention -and regional activity.
The Society exists for its members and to serve its member clubs
and regardless of grade, age gender or experience, I encourage
you to get involved in your regions' activities
and events.
Particularly, please support your first regional meeting (see
regional pages for details) and the first central meeting on
Thursday September 15th at the Institute of Child Health in
Guilford Street when JP Doyle will be taking centre stage. Also
please note the date of the Annual Dinner - Thursday 24 November at
the RAC Club. It will be a great event which I hope
you will support by bringing yourself and some
guests. The speaker this year is Willie John McBride, Ireland
and the British Lions; a genuine legend of the game -and a
formidable after dinner speaker.
I am delighted that we are able to continue our relationship
with Standard Chartered Bank which has agreed to renew its
sponsorship for another year this is excellent news. Helping
'emerging' rugby nations in the Bank's geographic footprint is part
of the sponsorship agreement and is taking the Society to a truly
international level. To this end, Ed Turnill and I will be
leaving for India shortly to support the All India and South Asia
tournament in Mumbai. We will be refereeing and coaching - and I
will be reporting on this in my October message. Perhaps most
importantly however, is the fact that the sponsorship allows us to
support you - all members and I hope that
you will appreciate the Society 'hoody' which is
available to all signed up active members courtesy of
Standard Chartered Bank.
I trust that you have summered well and that you are fit and
raring to go. Good luck with your officiating at whatever level you
operate - we rely on you.
Thank You , Good Luck and Enjoy.
Nick Cousins