Experienced ARRA referee, Sam Fellows recounts his memories of the 2016 Fiji Coral Coast Sevens. 

I was fortunate enough to be selected along with fellow ARRA referee Antony Petrie to travel to Fiji to referee at the Coral Coast Sevens. We also travelled with another New Zealand referee Susana Sotutu.

From the moment we stepped off the plane we were treated like royalty with members of the airport staff waiting at the end of the air bridge for us and whisked us past the security queues and out to wait for our ride to pull the car around and have a quick photo and interview with the local paper.

On the Wednesday after relaxing by the pool getting over the jet lag one faces after not changing time zones Ant and I headed to the tournament venue. This year was the first time they have included an under 19 tournament (The Uprising School 7s) the day before the tournament proper started.

Although Ant and I were chomping at the bit to get out in the middle we both thought four days refereeing in the sun and the heat would be a bit much. Instead we helped coach the up and coming Fiji referees and watch the fantastic school boy sevens. The tournament was excellent and something that would be good for some of the top Kiwi schools to go along to as it grows.

That afternoon we were included in the parade through Sigatoka, known as rugby town and at the end Lote Tuqiri was honoured along the town’s rugby walk of fame.

The tournament proper stated on the Thursday and right from the start Ant and I were taken in by the Fiji referees and made to feel part of the team. Although after the warm up on the first day we were both wondering how we would manage to get through three days of refereeing in the middle of the day, given the warm up was at 8am.

I was grateful of having been involved with refereeing the 7s tournaments in Auckland as I had an insight on how these tournaments run, referee selection and the way selectors and coaches gave feedback that needed to be acted on to ensure I was in the running for the big games. In addition to understanding the physical and mental demands of such a tournament.

On all three days the crowd was large and vocal, and increased in both size and volume during the finals on the third day. The teams were fast, passionate and skilful. Almost all the games we refereed were very close and many came down to try’s after time was up or teams needing a try to win once time was up.

At the end of the second day I was fortunate enough to be awarded a Men’s Quarter Final between Police (The eventual tournament winners) and BLK First Landing. A tight game till the end which the Police team ran away with 22-12 in the end.

The third day was a further step up in intensity from the teams to get into and make their respective finals. It was also a step up in the pressure on the referees with the big crowds and tight score lines as well as semi and final appointments at stake.

I was fortunate enough to be awarded the Men’s Plate Final between BLK First Landing and the Aussie Thunderbolts. An exciting game that BLK ended up running away after the big three days finally caught up with the Aussie boys.

The final was between Police and Wardens refereed by Fijian international referee James Bolabiu. The game showed the intensity of the tournament with several fiery moments and the Police coming out on top.

After the game we were honoured by the Fijian referees and given Fijian rugby shirts and sent off with some rousing Fijian songs.

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:

1. Make sure you are prepared physically, mentally and with food gear, etc before you go. If you like certain food or drink on game days make sure you take that, along with anything else you need, as it is likely that the tournaments will be different than those you are used to in NZ. Also make sure you are in peak physical condition as it may be outside your regular season but you don’t want to go all the way on an interchange just to feel let down by your performance.
2. Get involved with the other referees and listen and take on board any comments or suggestions from selectors. Besides helping you have fun getting involved with the other referees, it helps you learn more about refereeing, as a lot of the referees at these international tournaments have a lot of experience refereeing at high levels including at an international level. Also they have an insight on the local teams and local conditions. Additionally if you are selected you probably have a wealth of knowledge they are keen to know about, you should always jump at the chance if someone asks you to have a look at their game or give them some pointers. In terms of selectors or coaches, remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat so take on board and try to learn from any feedback given and make sure you act on it if given early in a tournament to ensure you are in the running for the big games.
3. Have fun and take time to appreciate the awesome opportunity that you have got. Soak it all in and bring things you have learnt back to share with others and improve your own game.

Finally and most importantly I am grateful to so many people for this opportunity, so a few mentions:

Thank you to all the organisers of the tournament and referee manager in Fiji for everything done for us before and during the tournament including accommodation, food, gear and fun.

Thank you the coaches and selectors for your feedback that I know will improve my game moving forward and for the opportunities I got at the tournament.

To all the ARs, In Goal ARs and Subs managers, thank you for having our backs in the middle and making sure we could concentrate on what was happening in front of us and confident the rest of the team had our backs.

To the other referees at the tournament, thanks for pushing us to be our best, the feedback on our games and for including as one of your own.

Thanks to everyone at the ARRA for selecting me and the work at this end to get us over there as well as the coaching at 7s tournaments and the advice from guys that had already been that enabled us to be excellently prepared going over.

Thanks to my partner Victoria who puts up with me doing this thing I love every Saturday and then put up with me going to do it for a week in the summer break, but is always so supportive of me doing it.

Lastly a huge thank you to Ant my fellow ARRA referee, who I was honoured to get to travel with, referee with, eat cookie ice creams with and chill by the pool with once the refereeing was done with for the week.