Leinster vs Ulster

What is your pre – match routine
like? I’m a sucker for being early, I’ve
had nightmares about being late for
games. I normally have a good carb
filled breakfast in the morning of protein
pancakes and fruit. I always try to arrive
60-90 minutes before KO. I like to get
all the formalities out of the way early,
so the team sheets, stud check, front row
chat and coin toss are out of the way
between 30 - 45 minutes before KO. I
tend to wait until 20 minutes before KO
to do my warm-up, which is a mixture of
static stretching, dynamic stretching and
running. I head back into the dressing
room about five minutes before KO and
then give the teams a time check before
following them back out.
What are your refereeing aspirations
- you are currently on IPAS, what
is IPAS about? My aspirations have
changed every season. When I first
started out, I never imagined that I
would be on IPAS - It wasn’t on my
radar. This season, it’s obviously to
pass IPAS and make it onto the national
panel. IPAS is short for Inter Provincial
Assessment System. It’s essentially a
set of six games, two in each province,
where you’re assessed by a local
assessor. The IRFU then decide at the
end of the season, if your performance
is good enough to make it onto the
national panel of referees. One day, it
would also be nice to tick a women’s
international off the list, but I’ll cross that
bridge if I get to it.
Who is your idol or favourite referee
and why? Luke Pearce is probably
my favourite referee at the minute.
He’s always, cool, calm and collected
in his approach. He has a good
gpfoto.ie
understanding of the law and really
effective communication with players.
What will make you improve as a
referee? Getting on the pitch. The more
games you get under your belt, the
better. Even if it’s an under 13 game,
it’s still valuable in the grand scheme
of things; you can work on the basics
which follow through, no matter what
level you’re refereeing. Also being
receptive to feedback from mentors and
other referees will benefit you.
What advice would you give to
someone thinking about taking
up refereeing? Just try it! It’s not as
daunting as a lot of people think. We’re
lucky in rugby, that referees are well
respected and there’s an abundance
of support available from mentors,
assessors and fellow referees in your
local area and beyond.
Do you do any self-analysis after
games? I’m probably my biggest critic.
I tend to analyse decisions and any
mistakes I make before I acknowledge
the decisions I’ve got right.
Wishing Katie the very best for the
season ahead and her IPAS games.
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