The 2016 Bayleys Coral Coast Fiji Sevens has just concluded and ARRA referee, Antony Petrie, recounts his experience travelling overseas to take part alongside fellow Kiwis, Sam Fellows and Susana Sotutu.
Antony Petrie reports:
The Baileys Fiji Coral Coast 7s is an absolutely amazing tournament which had village teams from all over Fiji plus international teams from New Zealand, Australia and USA. We (Sam Fellows, Susana Sotutu and myself) knew heading over that the rugby would be intense, hot and all over the place but its not till you get over there and experience it for yourself that you realise how intense, hot and all over the place it actually is.
The teams are at each other from the first blow of the whistle and don’t let up until the final whistle (even if they are no hope of winning) – both men’s and women’s rugby! They are big, powerful, fit and fast and the hits are massive so you have to be on your game all the time.
It is a long, physical and draining 3 days of refereeing where there is no let up from the heat. In NZ you can come off a game and cool down but over there, there is no air con, hardly any wind and you are continually sweating for the whole day. Finding a space to cool down and chill after a game can be difficult but is needed to prepare for the next game. My sweat towel came in very handy!
Usually there is some type of structure in 7s… over in Fiji you throw the structured play book away! The locals love to chuck it around, off load the ball when you think there is no chance that they can and you could be running your normal running lines and next second they are right in front of you so you have to adjust very quickly because you will be caught out. They make breaks from absolutely nothing so you need to be on your toes at all times.
For anyone that is lucky enough to be selected for an overseas interchange I have 3 tips that will hopefully make it easier for you;
- Talk to someone who has been on that interchange before or has refereed there before. This is very valuable as it gives you a better understanding of the conditions and what to expect. You don’t want to go over unprepared and be found out by a lack of prep.
- Be prepared to adjust your normal refereeing style to fit in with how the locals play their game. It can be very different to how rugby is played in NZ but if you aren’t prepared to change certain aspects then be prepared to be left behind by the other referees.
- Get amongst the social side with the other referees. This will make it a much more enjoyable experience than it already is and lets be honest, no one likes the guy/girl who sits by themselves and doesn’t interact with the rest of the team. The local referees really appreciate it and enjoy hanging out with you so don’t be that hermit that sits on their phone refreshing Facebook…
Lastly, I just want to thank the ARRA for allowing us to experience this amazing opportunity. We all learnt a lot while we were over there, the locals are great people who made us feel welcomed straight away and the rugby is awesome! If you get an opportunity to referee at any interchange, take it with both hands and make the most of it.
