Referee coach Debbie Innes (pictured) recently became the first person to complete and pass the RFU Society Coach Award after a pilot coaching course for referee coaches held in Gloucestershire was so successful it prompted the RFU to set the scheme in motion nationwide. The qualification involves 11 hours of study on elements of coaching, sports science and understanding of the game.

David Rose, the RFU Regional Referee Development Officer for the Midlands who created the award, said, “Its major benefit is to help establish better standards of refereeing within the societies. Gloucestershire found it a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience and it does show that we value our referees. Debbie has displayed a high degree of understanding of both refereeing and more importantly coaching and as a result will be able to help many referees to improve in future.”

For more information about courses for match officials, please visit www.rfu.com/pdfs/referees/pathwaypaper.pdf.