6 October 2022

Rugby League World Cup 2021 has announced the Match Officials that will officiate the tournament’s 61 fixtures, which includes NZRL referees Rochelle Tamarua and Paki Parkinson, with the tournament kicking off at St James’ Park on 15 October.

Auckland-born and raised, Tamarua officiated her first NRLW season this year, after over ten years of dedication to the code in New Zealand. Parkinson is a seasoned referee taking home NZRL’s Match Official of the Year award in 2021.

New Zealand Rugby League would like to congratulate both Rochelle and Paki on their selection.

“What a proud moment to have two Kiwi officials selected to officiate at the highest level in this game,” says NZRL CEO Greg Peters.

“Both have served our game over many years and their selection shows a positive pathway for referees in New Zealand.”

Peters adds, “It’s exciting to have both Rochelle and Paki on our World Cup Waka, I know they will make their country and communities proud.”

(RLWC 2021 official release continued)

Australian official Gerard Sutton is another name included, with the vastly experienced Australian having officiated the 2017 Men’s final between Australia and England. Sutton has also refereed seven NRL Grand Finals, the 2014 World Club Challenge and matches in eight State of Origin series.

Sutton will also be joined by England’s Jack Smith, a former Royal Marine who was shot by a sniper by the Taliban in 2011 and who has been touch judge in the Four Nations series in 2016 and for the 2017, 2020 and 2021 Challenge Cup Finals as well as the Super League Grand Final in 2021.

Also on the list is Liam Moore, who has officiated at the last two Super League Grand Finals as well as the Challenge Cup Finals in 2020 and 2021. Ashley Klein, who was in charge of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Final when New Zealand upset Australia to claim their first title, will be participating in his fourth World Cup.

Joining Kiwi Rochelle Tamura, are two other female officials, Kasey Badger and Belinda Sharpe all three are set to officiate across both men’s and women’s tournament fixtures.

The Wheelchair Tournament, which is being run alongside the men’s and women’s competitions for the first time in the sport’s history, will have eight match officials with Kim Abel, Laurent Abrial, Matthew Ball, David Butler, Ollie Cruickshank, Steven Hewson, Grant Jackson and David Roig officiating the matches at English Institute of Sport in Sheffield and the Copper Box Arena in London, before the final heads to Manchester Central on 18 November.

All officials will come into camp before matches for meeting, training and previews to ensure consistency in decision-making and approach, with Men’s & Women’s officials hosted in Manchester and those covering Wheelchair fixtures hosted in Sheffield.

The officials will also attend an Ahead of the Game workshop in conjunction with RLWC2021’s Mental Fitness Partner, Movember, as part of RLWC2021’s Mental Fitness Charter.

Rugby League World Cup 2021 Tournament Director, Dean Hardman, said:

“I am delighted that we have managed to secure such a talented roster of match officials for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

“Our ambition in all areas is to provide players and spectators with a world class environment with which to enjoy what we hope will be the biggest, best and most inclusive World Cup in the sport’s 127-year history.

“We consider our match officials to be the 33rd team of the tournament and I can’t wait to work with them to deliver high standards across all 61 fixtures.”

Jared Maxwell, NRL’s General Manager for Elite Officiating and RLWC2021’s Lead Match Officials Coach, said: 

“We’re delighted to see a number of NRL officials participating in Rugby League World Cup 2021. The tournament brings together the best players from across the globe and it’s important that the quality of officiating meets those same high standards. I know that our officials are really looking forward to travelling to England to play their part in what is looking set to be a fantastic tournament.”

 

Steve Ganson, Head of Match Officials at the RFL and RLWC2021’s Match Officials Manager said: 

“With the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments running together simultaneously for the very first time it was vital that we assembled the best possible team of officials for all three tournaments. This is a vastly experienced group with a huge wealth of domestic and international experience that will play their part in ensuring Rugby League World Cup 2021 is officiated to the best standard possible.”

A full list of the officials who will be in action at the biggest, best and most inclusive Rugby League World Cup in history is available below:

Men’s and women’s tournament officials 

Atkins, Grant (NRL); Badger, Kasey (NRL); Bowmer, Dean (RFL); Casty, Ben (FFRXIII);  Child, James (RFL); Furner, Darian (NRL);  Gee, Adam (NRL);  Grant, Tom (RFL); Griffiths, Marcus (RFL); Hicks, Robert (RFL); Horton, Neil (RFL); Kendall, Chris (RFL); Klein, Ashley (NRL); Moore, Aaron (RFL); Moore, Liam (RFL); Parkinson, Paki (NZRL); Poumes, Geoffrey (FFRXIII); Raymond, Wyatt (NRL); Rush, Liam (RFL); Sharpe, Belinda (NRL); Smaill, Michael (RFL); Smith, Jack (RFL); Smith, Todd (NRL); Sutton, Gerard (NRL); Tamarua, Rochelle (NZRL); Thaler, Ben (RFL); Turley, Warren (RFL); Vella, James (RFL)

Wheelchair tournament officials:

Abel, Kim (WALES); Abrial, Laurent  (FFRXIII); Ball, Matthew (ENGLAND); Butler, David  (ENGLAND); Cruickshank, Ollie (SCOTLAND); Hewson, Steven (AUSTRALIA); Jackson, Grant  (WALES); Roig, David (FFRXIII)

29 April 2021

New Zealand Rugby League would like to congratulate the following New Zealanders; Anthony Eliott, Chris McMillan, Paki Parkinson and Rochelle Tamarua for being appointed to the newly formed International Match Officials Squad (IMOS).

The International Rugby League (IRL) has announced the International Match Officials Squad (IMOS) will operate underneath the Elite Match Officials Squad (EMOS) and will generally officiate games that do not involve the top four ranked countries.

IMOS has officials from eight different countries which reflects the development of match officials around the world and is the only way to be considered for EMOS in the future is to have officiated as a member of IMOS, there is every incentive for the match officials in this group to perform. 

Rugby League is leading the way by identifying a pathway for match officials which is fully inclusive, with the first three women being selected for IMOS. As a sign of strategic intent to accelerate the opportunities for and development of women officials in international rugby league, IMOS can be expanded to 24 referees, no more than 16 of whom will be men.

On announcing the make-up of the squad, IRL Match Officials Manager Stuart Cummings said:

“This has been a very difficult selection process with a number of candidates just missing out. The squad reflects the level of competitions around the world and the continued improvement in the performance and training of match officials. It is also important that we recognise the great strides made in the development and performance of our female officials by starting to develop their pathway and create more opportunities for them. The squad size will grow as we receive more nominations.”

The IRL International Match Officials Squad is:

Kasey Badger             Australia
James Child                England
Anthony Eliott            New Zealand
Adam Gee                   Australia
Peter Gough               Australia
James Jones               Wales
Chris McMillan            New Zealand
Scott Mikalauskas      England
Paki Parkinson            New Zealand
Andrew Pilkington     Spain
Geoffrey Poumes        France
Hanua Rupa                 Papua New Guinea
Belinda Sharpe           Australia
Chris Sutton                 Australia
Rochelle Tamarua      New Zealand
Ben Thaler                    England
Etika Tukana                Fiji
Stephane Vincent      France
Paul Wane                    Papua New Guinea

By David Beck – Bay of Plenty Times

When his rugby league career was cut short by an ACL injury in 2015, Bay of Plenty man Paki Parkinson was justifiably upset.

However, rather than sulk or feel sorry for himself, he found a way to stay as close to the action as possible – as a referee. He completed his level one refereeing course later that year and an eagerness to constantly learn and improve has seen him rise rapidly up the ranks.

This week his passion and dedication was recognised when he was named Match Official of the Year at the New Zealand Rugby League Awards.

Raised in Rotorua, Parkinson is a student of the game and first played for Ngongotaha, just as his father and grandfather did. He also spent time playing in Huntly, where he was born, before moving back to the Bay and playing for Otumoetai, for whom he was playing when he suffered his injury.

Since becoming a referee he has not looked back. He is a regular whistle-blower in the Bay of Plenty/Coastline Premier competition, has refereed in a range of national tournaments and in October was the main man in the transtasman women’s test match at Mt Smart Stadium.

Parkinson said he was surprised, but honoured and humbled to win the award.

“I’ve played league my whole life, it’s in the blood really. After the injury I was coaching my son’s league team at the Papamoa Bulldogs and I thought I’d give refereeing a go, just for the junior leagues.

“After that I was invited to referee at the national rangatahi tournament, which was in Hawera that year, and from there I got the bug.”

Paki Parkinson runs the sideline during the National Secondary Schools Rugby League finals day. Photo / Photosport NZ
Paki Parkinson runs the sideline during the National Secondary Schools Rugby League finals day. Photo / Photosport NZ

Being a referee allowed him to stay fit and give back to the game he loves.

“I also enjoy being able to give players better opportunities to get on the field and play.

“The highlight this year would definitely be the transtasman test, that was a major highlight. The Maori Tuakana finals are always a major for me as well, because it’s players you don’t normally get to referee at club level, they’re a lot higher up in New South Wales Cup and even NRL.”

Parkinson said before a game he focused on the job at hand and did not often suffer from nerves.

“You have to be confident in your own ability and game preparation is big for me. Going through scenarios and issues that might come up, that helps me be ready and not nervous.”

The 34-year-old said his ultimate goal was to referee in the NRL.

“Obviously any aspiring referee wants to be in the NRL, age would be a factor in my situation, but I just need to keep putting my hand up for opportunities and nailing them when I do get the chance,” he said.

The man who nominated Parkinson, Bay of Plenty Rugby League referees chairman Graeme Hill said his greatest strength was his constant desire to improve.

“Paki works extremely hard at what he does. He has transitioned from a player to a referee, he’s done that extremely well, and in a short space of time he has basically excelled at the craft. His work ethic and his man management skills are second to none.

“He will continually analyse and review his own performances every week, he’s always trying to learn, always trying to better himself. He made us aware as an association that he wanted to get to the top of refereeing in New Zealand and be able to do it from the Bay of Plenty.

“We’re all extremely proud, it’s quite humbling, I was happy to nominate him and get him in there,” Hill said.