As the club heads towards the end of another exciting season of rugby at all levels, I want to celebrate the other team on the pitch at every game. Sometimes a team of 3 but usually a team of just 1 for club referees, it can be a lonely world in the middle of a chaotic game of rugby union and here I am going to pay tribute to the people who have taken up the whistle this season.
By the time the last final whistle blows in April, the club referees team will have been in the middle for over 80 games this year. This includes games from U11s all the way up to Senior Men’s and Women’s matches. In the Autumn we supported the Harlow schools secondary schools festival (with the finals in April 2026) and in March the Harlow Primary Schools Tag Rugby, expertly organised by our very own Luke Hammond in his working role with the Harlow Primary Schools Partnership. The club hosted an Essex Girls’ Pitch up and Play event this January and the team were on hand to run games for U12s and U14s sides from across the county.
A big thank you to all the people below who have refereed games this season. This is often in addition to supporting coaching of teams at Harlow as well so thank you for all the time you give up:
Calum Potter, Luke Hammond, Nathan Sandles, Darryl Brooks, Kerrie Mouncey, Daniel Barton, Toby Roze, Kelly Harman and Dan Ricketts.
We are also forging greater links with neighbouring clubs (Bishops Stortford, Cheshunt, Epping UC) and were grateful to have been supported by Pete Brady and Jez Abbott from Stortford who refereed Colts friendlies at the start of the season. Having a team of club officials not only means we can safely support matches across the club, but it also literally saves the club money as we are not reliant on the paid for services from the regional society. An estimated £800 has been saved by us providing our own referees for a variety of games from U16s and upwards this season.
Shining a spotlight on our Young Match Officials this season, several members of the U15s took part in an Introduction to Refereeing course in April 2025 and have been making fantastic progress in their officiating journey. It appeared that Daniel Barton and Toby Roze were competing for who could referee the most games at the start of the season and although Dan has moved to pastures new, he has continued to referee games at his new club. Lewis Smith also joined the team and both he and Toby will be completing their “Ready 2 Ref” course in April, making them fully qualified match officials!
Spaces on this course are still available until April 7th so follow this link to book your place. If finance is difficult, please contact myself or Nichola King and we can help you out. No previous experience is needed but a love of the game is very useful! Full support will be provided after the course to help you find the right games for you and build your confidence, knowledge and ability.
Finally, a tribute to one of the young referees. On March 28th, Toby had the honour of being the club’s flag bearer for The Clash at Saracens v Northampton today. Additionally, and in a surprise for him, Toby met the match referee, Anthony Woodthorpe who presented him with a signed jersey. “Woody” started his refereeing journey across the border in Hertfordshire so perhaps we will see Toby doing the same in the future!
A deserved recognition of the time Toby has given to refereeing so many games this season (at the time of writing this his total is just under 20!). Congratulations Toby and thank you to his family for all their efforts in getting him to games (and cleaning kit)!
So it just leaves me to say that if you want to get involved with refereeing, simply get in touch (pardon the pun) and we will be delighted to have you join the team with the best seat in the house!
Keep Whistling!
Dan Ricketts
Club Referee Co-ordinator and Essex RFU Club Referee Development Manager
