Match Officials Gathered Ahead of 2020 Season

Major League Rugby (MLR) match officials gathered in Houston from January 17 to 19 in preparation for the third season. The group was led by the Match Official Manager, Richard Every, Technical Manager, Steve Lander and Director, Jeremy Turner. They set out to build upon the first two seasons, and establish an approach on application to provide teams a more consistent product. The group is further supported by long-time World Rugby Strength & Conditioning coach, Phil Dunne, Assistant Referee Manager, Marc Nelson and Riaan van Greuning as Assignments & Finance Manager.

Officials originally from nine countries will feature in the MLR, including New Zealander, Jamie Nutbrown, who refereed in Super Rugby and two Junior World Cups. “He is a great addition to the core referees, lending his experience, knowledge and support, as referee and former first-class player,” said Turner. The referee team also includes two-time final referee, Scott Green, Derek Summers, Luke Rogan, Chris Assmus, Moe Chaudhry, Lex Weiner, Mike O’Brien and Henrique Platais. They were joined by assistant referees, referee coaches, disciplinary and new to 2020, performance reviewers.

The conference kicked off on Friday with a fitness session by Phil Dunne as it is a core element and referees are required to maintain an expected level throughout the season. It was followed by team building and the afternoon sessions focused on strategic and contextual refereeing, and rounded off with reviewing. Saturday saw some teams represented as the technical focus areas were discussed that included the breakdown, space, scrum, lineout/maul and foul play, plus a presentation covering key elements that have been identified as areas of inconsistency across the game internationally. Another addition this season is that team coaches will have full access to referee video reports through the online Advantage™ Software, adding clips to review in weekly team coach/referee management meetings, plus all match official meetings will be recorded and the videos provided to teams. Match Official Manager, Richard Every, added, “As we build Major League Rugby in North America, it is important that we do it as a group, teams and officials, to provide the best possible product, and we believe that this new level of transparency and accountability will facilitate a solid foundation as we work toward those goals.”

The third season kicks off on February 8, 2020, with Nutbrown in the middle for a repeat of last season’s final between Seattle Seawolves and San Diego Legion.

 

Match Official Team 2020

Referees:

Jamie Nutbrown (New Zealand)

Scott Green

Derek Summers

Luke Rogan (Australia)

Chris Assmus (Canada)

Moe Chaudhry (Canada)

Lex Weiner

Mike O’Brien

Henrique Platais (Brazil)

 

Referee Coaches:

Andrew McMaster (Canada)

Sean McDonaugh (Canada)

Rob Debney (England)

 

Reviewers:

Peter Watson

Mike Kelly

Amanda Cox

Josh Houston

Olivia Rogers

Lee Johnson

David Haines

Jeremy McDowall

Wendy Young

 

Assistant Referees:

Amelia Luciano

Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)

Kat Roche

Paul-Henri Courbier (France)

Steve Gore

Kahlil Harrison

Marquise Goodwin

Joey Swatzell

Cisco Lopez

Austin Reed

Nick Tricarico

Stuart Geiger

Christopher Micheletti (Canada)

Michael Jones (Canada)

Joe Burpoe

Rick Goldammer

Mike Lawrenson

Allen Alongi

Butch Neuenschwander

Greg Varnell

Kage Green

Denny Russell

Pearce Mara

Dave Edwards

 

TMO:

Davey Ardrey

 

Citing Commissioners:

David Pelton

Dana Teagarden

Jason Wallach

Bruce Kuklinski

Tim Ricketts

 

Judicial Officers:

Alan Hudson

Gary Heavner

Matt Eason

Jim Russell