Referee Colours

Royal Navy Rugby Union Referees Society – Colours Awarded

Researched and uploaded by Geraint Ashton Jones Oct 2012 amended Nov 2013
Additional Research by Tim Bailey

Unlike players the referees of the Royal Navy Rugby Union Referees Society do not get capped but are awarded their colours. To achieve this they must officiate as either referee or assistant referee (touch judge in old money) at the Army v Royal Air Force Senior Inter Service match. One referee, Roger Baileff, also holds the distinction of officiating as a member of the Royal Navy Rugby Union at the Army Navy match(since the time of neutral match officials ~ 1988).  When a member of the Royal Navy Rugby Union Referees Society has been awarded their colours their are entitled to wear a tie with the silver inter locking RN moniker of the RNRU defaced with the word referee.

At it's AGM 10 December 2015 the RNRU approved the awarding of colours for those officials who referee or are an AR at the match between the Royal Navy and the Marine National or referee the match between the Royal Navy Women and Marine Nationale Feminines or a UK women's Inter Service match providing they are a L7 referee.  Similarly colours will be awarded to the referee of a UK veteran's Inter Service match providing they are a L6 referee.

Additional information added Nov 2012:

However as has been pointed out by RNRU Life Member and former Secretary of the RNRURS Derek Rowland, Roger’s distinction used to be the norm.  In his own words “The introduction states that colours were awarded to RNRURS referees who had refereed or run touch in the senior RN v Army fixture at Twickenhan. Not quite so! In the days when all officials were unbiased(!), the RN and the Army each provided one touch-judge. In 1976  I was the RN nominee and WO Len Pilling (ARURS &Hants) was the Army nominee; and very smart we looked in blue blazers!”  Derek I am happy to add you correction and the image of Touch Judges (not Assistant Referees) in blazers is one that I still recall from my youth.  Since Derek's correspondence further research has uncovered a number of others who ran touch in the Army Navy match.

The information on this page is taken from various match reports, match programmes, RNRU official minutes and RNRURS information.

This page was lst updated April 2018.

Geraint Ashton Jones - July 2017