For some time now the coaching of Referees has been conducted largely by a volunteer workforce consisting of former referees passing on their experience. In recent times the development of coaching as a profession has enabled great strides to be made in terms of improving the overall quality and standard of coaching delivery.

The RFU referee department has worked extensively with its colleagues in coaching and with external agencies to develop a pathway and development system for referee coaches. Two new awards have been written taking a similar route to that of other coaches and in doing so have been instrumental in beginning to integrate refereeing and coaching.

The awards are designed for primarily home study with some contact time with a tutor. They operate at two levels. One for Societies and the other for those referee coaches operating with Development Squads. Both courses cater for the differing experience levels of coaches and offer the candidate a unique opportunity to develop as a coach along the same lines as a more traditional coaching role.

The RFU is the first governing body to formally introduce an award structure for officiating coaches and has taken a world wide lead in officiating development.

“BETTER OFFICAIALS, BETTER GAME…”