Celebrating everything great about rugby people, who referee! We'll bring you the latest news about rugby refereeing - appointments, law news, rugby news - as well as a closer look at all the aspects of being a rugby referee or match official
Today, it's a solo episode with Keith talking through the law changes that came into force on 1 July 2026, following World Rugby's Council meeting in June.
While there's a lot to cover, the bottom line is that there isn't much that changes for us as referees. Only two pretty-rare ingoal restarts change from 22DOs to TLDOs for consistency reasons - but as you'll hear, there's a lot of other bits and pieces to be aware of:
Move of four older GLobal Law Trials into full law
Introduction of a lower legal tackle height for the community game as law for all (choice for Unions of sternum or waist)
Minor law wording tweaks for consistency, clarity or to remove confusion or conflicting clauses
Law application guideline covering the Maul
World Rugby say this isn't about removing/changing laws - it's just a tidy up process and to make the laws easier for people to read and understand. Let us know what you think! Many of you will have had your own lists of 'law problems' - have these all been fixed now? Let us know if you have any others!
Links:
World Rugby 'What's new' article (https://passport.world.rugby/laws-of-the-game/whats-new/2026-07-law-updates/) on the changes
World Rugby presentation being circuilated (https://worldrugby.box.com/v/lawamends2026) to Unions for cascading
Tackle height law wordings (https://passport.world.rugby/laws-of-the-game/whats-new/2026-06-community-tackle-height-law-wordings-approved/)
June 2026 Maul Law Application Guideline (https://passport.world.rugby/laws-of-the-game/law-application-guidelines/maul-june-2026/)
If you have any comments about this episode, or suggestions for future shows, then drop me a line at ref@rugbyreferee.net (mailto:ref@rugbyreferee.net)!
You can follow us here:
Instagram: RugbyRefereenet (instagram.com/RugbyRefereenet)
Facebook: Page: RugbyReferee.net (https://www.facebook.com/rugbyrefereenet)
Facebook Group: RugbyReferee.net Community (refsquad.com)
Or you can connect with Keith personally on Twitter (Twitter.com/keithlewisrugby) or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/keithlewiscomms)
24 Jun 2026
Holly Wood talks about refereeing, bumps, babies and attracting elite players into picking up the whistle
Today, we're joined by Holly Wood, Rugby World Cup 2025 match official and referee across the men's and women's leagues here in England.
This weekend (28 June 2026), she will referee the PWR Final (https://www.thepwr.com/) between Saracens Women and Trailfinders Women - just 10 weeks or so post-partum.
In this episode, recorded just days before baby #2 joined the world, we chat about her elite performance background, her route into refereeing, her first pregnancy journey and the legacy from that process for other female referees around the country.
We also chat about an initiative she has spearheaded attracting new referees from the elite female playing community.
Resources mentioned:
RFU Match Official Maternity guidance (https://rfu.widen.net/s/kzbqw8pgdf/6.-pregnancy-and-match-official-guidance---may-2023---2023.07.11)
High Performance Referee Scholarship with PWR (https://www.thepwr.com/news/pwr-launch-high-performance-refereee-programme)
If you have any comments about this episode, or suggestions for future shows, then drop me a line at ref@rugbyreferee.net (mailto:ref@rugbyreferee.net)!
You can follow us here:
Twitter: RugbyRefereenet (twiiter.com/rugbyrefereenet)
Instagram: RugbyRefereenet (instagram.com/RugbyRefereenet)
Facebook: Page: RugbyReferee.net (https://www.facebook.com/rugbyrefereenet)
Facebook Group: RugbyReferee.net Community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/rugbyreferee.net)
Or you can connect with Keith personally on Twitter (Twitter.com/keithlewisrugby) or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/keithlewiscomms)
22 May 2026
Southland Rugby's Referee scholarships and wellbeing initiatives
Andrew Rowland, previously chair of Rugby Southland Referees joins me to talk about two initiatives they are running in the furthest south peninsula of New Zealand.
Firstly their Referees of the Future Scholarship initiative - a new way of attracting young (and not so young....) people into refereeing. We look at what's behind it, what's the 'offer' and how it's going so far. There's some more info here (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1403703195133147&set=pb.100064804385998.-2207520000)on their 2026 scholarship awardees.
And then Andrew and I talked about their Chaplaincy offer for their match officials in the province. We talk about what it is, what it's not, and how it's helped him and his fellow referees. If the word chaplaincy sends you down a certain thought route (as it did for me), then worth listening to what it actually is.
For more about refereeing in Southland, head here (https://www.rugbysouthland.co.nz/community-rugby/Referees-1/Referees-Home).
If you have any comments about this episode, or suggestions for future shows, then drop me a line at ref@rugbyreferee.net (mailto:ref@rugbyreferee.net)!
You can follow us here:
Twitter: RugbyRefereenet (twiiter.com/rugbyrefereenet)
Instagram: RugbyRefereenet (instagram.com/RugbyRefereenet)
Facebook: Page: RugbyReferee.net (https://www.facebook.com/rugbyrefereenet)
Facebook Group: RugbyReferee.net Community (https://www.facebook.com/groups/rugbyreferee.net)
Or you can connect with Keith personally on Twitter (Twitter.com/keithlewisrugby) or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/keithlewiscomms)
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