Ex England Hooker Brian Moore whistles through RFU Refereeing Course 


Brian Moore with whistle in hand and kitted out in London Society referee jersey - Pictures Courtesy of RFU.

In a classic case of poacher turned gamekeeper, Brian Moore has become a qualified referee with the Rugby Football Union after successfully taking the national governing body's Entry Level Referee Award (ELRA). 

Moore earned the nickname 'Pitbull' in his playing days and he has never held back in his forthright assessments of refereeing decisions in his current roles as a television commentator and newspaper columnist.

But it was a gauntlet thrown down while the former England and British & Irish Lions hooker was trading opinions with an online forum of referees which made him dive headfirst into the world of the qualified whistler.

"I'd got into an argument over the refereeing of the front row," said Moore. "I reckoned I'd been a hooker in over 75,000 scrums during my career so I knew what I was talking about.   "Then the questioner asked how many front rows I'd ever refereed, and he suggested I take the ELRA course to find out what it was like. So I thought 'yes, I'll do it'."

Moore got in touch with Ed Turnill, the RFU's referee development manager in London, and signed up for an ELRA course at his local rugby club Battersea Ironside, run by Turnill and referee trainer Bob Ockenden.

The International Rugby Board's Total Rugby cameras were on hand to film Moore and his 23 fellow trainee referees, aged 14 to 50, through three classroom sessions and two practical stints in which each candidate set up match scenarios and attempted to apply the relevant laws.

"I think the course is good," said Moore. "They don't expect you to learn the whole lawbook in one go; they encourage you to focus on how the laws are applied. "I enjoyed it, I intend to carry on refereeing now that I've qualified and I'd recommend it to any ex-player who is a good communicator. It is fun, it's a great way to stay involved with rugby and you can fit it into your working schedule any way you like."


The final element of Moore's introduction to refereeing was a special match at Rosslyn Park FC, also filmed by Total Rugby - which ended prematurely for the new recruit when he pulled a calf muscle!

But Turnill was impressed with his star pupil, saying: "Brian's a forceful character and it would have been easy for him to take the course over but he didn't. He has been a great delegate.  "He did very well imparting the knowledge of the scrum he has from his playing days to the other candidates, and in other areas of the game he took a lot in. It increased his understanding of what we talk about when training referees.  "Everyone knows that without the man or woman with the whistle there is no game of rugby. We are always on the lookout for new referees and to have such a celebrated critic come through the course in this way was a great boost."

The RFU Entry Level Referee Award is open to anyone over the age of 14, with or without significant rugby experience. Once passed, the qualified referee can handle matches and festivals for players from under-nines through youth rugby up to the junior sides of senior clubs. 

From there a clear pathway exists via local referees' societies all the way to the international status enjoyed by professional RFU referees such as Chris White and Wayne Barnes. 

The RFU strategic plan for community rugby is seeking to create an extra team at every club throughout England - and more players and more teams will need more referees.

* To see Brian Moore on his RFU refereeing course, watch the feature on Total Rugby on Sky Sports at the following times this week: 

Wednesday February 24, 9.30pm, Sky Sports 4; 11.30pm, Sky Sports 4;

  Thursday February 25, 1.30am, Sky Sports 4; 9.30am, Sky Sports 2; 2.30pm, Sky Sports 1.

Brian Moore (right) receiving his ELRA certificate from RFU elite referee Greg Garner.

* To find out more about how to become a referee go to Rfu.com/referee or find your local Referee Development Manager on the website or in the RFU Yearbook.

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