Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast , Sam Fellows, Sean Curragh and Jamie Bell are joined by Ben Rickard, fresh off being named Whistler of the Week and, by the sound of it, one of the busiest referees on the Bay of Plenty appointment sheet. Ben shares how he first picked up the whistle through junior rugby, what keeps him coming back each weekend, and the satisfaction that comes from...

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast , we turn the tables as regular host Sam Fellows steps into the guest chair. Sam reflects on more than 22 years of refereeing , including over 125 Bay of Plenty Premier matches , his journey through representative and Heartland rugby, and some of the moments that have shaped his career both on and off the field. We also cover: 🏉 A busy weekend of lo...

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referee Podcast , Sam and Jamie are joined by David Hodgson , Chair of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union Referee Management Group. David has been involved in Bay of Plenty refereeing since 2004 and has chaired the RMG since 2015. In this episode, he talks about why he first picked up the whistle, his highlights from more than two decades in the game, and what really happ...

In this episode of the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast, Sam, Jamie and Sean are joined by Nick Hogan, one of New Zealand’s leading match officials, currently dialling in from India while officiating in the latest edition of the Indian sevens competition. Nick reflects on his refereeing journey, from starting out as a schoolboy referee at Wellington College after deciding playing was no longer the b...

In Episode 13 of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Referees Podcast , Sam and Jamie catch up for a hosts-only episode covering the latest from around the referee world and Bay rugby more broadly. They begin with a practical discussion on community rugby discipline, including red and yellow card reporting, the importance of proper follow-up, and why accurate team sheet information matters when incidents are...

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referee Podcast, we’re joined by Tiana Ngawati-Anderson, one of Bay of Plenty’s leading match officials, now established on the international pathway in both sevens and fifteens. Tiana reflects on her refereeing journey, the significance of being named on the 2026 HSBC SVNS women’s panel, her international XVs appointments, and what it has taken to return to the whis...

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referee Podcast, we’re joined by Elias Owen, one of our emerging Bay of Plenty referees who has had a big few weeks, including refereeing his first Super 8 match during the school day, earning Whistler of the Week, and being promoted to Panel 4 in our latest mid-season promotions. Elias takes us through how he got into refereeing, what the Super 8 appointment was lik...

This week on the Bay of Plenty Referee Podcast, we’re joined by James Grieve from Auckland after a full interchange weekend in the Bay. James took the whistle in the middle and then backed it up as an AR afterwards, so we chat about interchange weekends, what referees can learn from seeing a different province operate, and the value of getting outside your usual environment. We also get James’ per...

This week we’re joined by Shinoa Nikora, one of our Eastern Bay of Plenty referees who has stepped up at exactly the right time, in a part of the province where referee numbers are tight and the work is constant. Shinoa shares her journey from associate refereeing into the middle, why she picked up the whistle to help address the shortage, and what it’s been like combining refereeing with playing...

This week we’re joined by Estelle Whaiapu, a Bay of Plenty match official and World Rugby Television Match Official (TMO), previously recognised by us as a Whistler of the Week and a key contributor within our Referee Management Group, including leading strategy development for the club . Estelle takes us inside the world of high-performance officiating and what it’s really like being a TMO and Fo...

This week we’re joined by Kirk Vosper, a Bay of Plenty-based referee in his fourth year on the whistle (second as a registered ref), working across junior and secondary school rugby and now getting regular exposure on premier sidelines. We debrief the weekend’s rugby, including: a premier match red card that became a talking point, and how the 20-minute red card can affect game flow and spectacle;...

This week we’re joined by Jaco Brouwer ; originally from South Africa and marking 20 years since he started refereeing (first session at Ellis Park… which is now a pub, so technically he began his career in a pub ). Jaco shares highlights from a two‑decade whistle journey, including officiating in Sri Lanka on the Bradby Shield (two‑leg aggregate format) in front of 10,000–12,000 with brass bands...

This week we’re joined by Dakota Collier , who has been everywhere over summer, sevens tournaments, AIMS Games, and even stepping into senior men’s rugby while still at high school . We chat about what that jump feels like, how respect changes once you’re in the middle, and what he’s learning from tournament rugby and high‑tempo games. We recap a busy opening weekend across the Baywide comps (Prem...

It’s a quieter Easter window, but plenty happening behind the scenes for Bay of Plenty referees. We cover the season launch and the news that Local Gecko Productions will stream a Premier Men’s and Premier Women’s match each week via subscription, making local club rugby easier to follow from home. We unpack the senior referee kaupapa discussed at the bay‑wide meeting: stronger mentoring and sidel...

Pre‑season rolls into local comps and the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast checks in on week one around the Bay. We celebrate new referee debuts (including recent AR‑course grads in Eastern Bay) and recap the first bay‑wide meeting : the technical pillar on tackle, ruck and maul —breaking down pre‑contest, contest and post‑contest, with plenty of practical questions from the floor. Guest: Josh Baker...

We’re three weeks into pre‑season and the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast digs into what the weekend taught us: a hot Rose Bowl final with a red card and two yellows, a 66‑0 pre‑season result with promising signs, and AR duties at the NZ U20s where the standard was sharp. Our guest Pat Rae, player, referee, coach and current lead for our referee coaches, shares how he’s coordinating an experienced...

We kick off the Bay of Plenty Referees Podcast with a frank pre‑season wrap: early red and yellow cards, heat management, and discipline trends from the Bay. In our Education recap we cover NZR’s Game Focus Areas: Speed (tackle/jackal), Space (ruck/maul and in‑front‑of‑kicker), Set Piece (scrum: square/space/stable; lineout contest; legal maul set‑up) and Safety with a real emphasis on sternum‑hei...