Clara Munarini is an Italian Rugby Union referee and the first woman to have officiated a men’s Italian cup final back in 2022. She was Assistant Referee in the final of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
The experts at ACME Whistles were able to grab an exclusive interview with Clara to get to know the referee behind the whistle.
Name: Clara Munarini
Age: 35
Height: 1.7m or 5ft 7”
What do you do to keep fit? Two gym Sessions, 2 field sessions and a game per week, more or less.
Where do you live? Parma
How many years have you refereed? 13
Can you remember your first game as a referee? Yes, it was an under 14s game near Parma and I probably blew my whistle about four times and I had no idea what I was doing, but it was positive in terms of my enthusiasm and everyone on the field was aware that it was my first game and everyone was very kind.
I still remember how kind and how positive the coaches, players and my tutor were to explain to me what I had to do so I have a good memory of this honestly.
Can you remember your first international game? It was a Test match in Spain I think around 2017/2018 between Spain and South Africa.
I was very excited because it was the pinnacle of my career and probably in that moment, I started to understand that there were some opportunities for me to grow up and become an international referee.
Once I received the appointment it was a goal achieved. Something that I’d striven for a few years, so once that happened it was such a privilege and an amazing thing.
What’s your favourite stadium? The Principality in Cardiff because it’s big, but it’s also in town so it’s strange being able to walk to a stadium from your hotel. The atmosphere in the stadium there is also really cool.
What’s your whistle of choice? ACME Thunderer 58.5
What’s been the biggest moment in your career so far? I have two – the final of the WXV 2 in South Africa last year refereeing Scotland versus Australia was one of the best times of my career and my second semi-final in Italy two years ago.
I was the first female refereeing a man’s semi-final in Italy and it was one of the best moments of my career because it was a close game. There were two strong teams on the field, and the game was close until the end. So yeah, one of the best moments.
Who inspired you to take up the whistle? Noone really inspired me, but a friend gave me the input on what was required to become a referee, and I was obsessed with rugby and watching all the games. Before I became a referee, I watched a lot of games with my father and we printed the law book because we had no idea about the rules and the law and so we printed the it and we studied it.
There was something in my mind that once I decided to become a referee, I went ahead with it so there wasn’t just one person who inspired me – it was more a series of events alongside my passion for the game.
If you had to pick one area the game that’s the hardest to referee what would that be? Probably at the moment it’s the line out and maul because teams are improving a lot in doing this and there are there are a lot of scenarios that could play out during these parts of the game and it’s very fast and we need to control a lot of different things. Not being too technical but also finding the balance between the defence and the attacking team.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen on a rugby pitch? Probably when 10 dogs came onto the field. I don’t know if it was a house or something else close to the field, but they broke the door down maybe and escaped running onto the field during the game and I had no idea about what I should do to be honest.
Who is the best player you’ve ever refereed? “Mo” Natasha Hunt
Who’s the toughest player you’ve ever refereed? Rachel Malcolm – 100%!
If you were to take three things to a desert island, what would they be? Matches, a blanket and a knife. I’ve been a scout so would try to survive!
Do you have any hidden talents? I’ve got a good sense of rhythm and am a good dancer.
Who would be your dream dinner party guests? I love movies so big movie directors like Stanley Kubrick or a big actor like Paul Newman or Audrey Hepburn.
If you could pick any two teams to referee, who would they be? Ireland and Australia, because of the style of their game, I really like the balance between being strong and also having a fast game.
Do you have any pre-game rituals? No, but I do like to be organised and run through my schedule to prepare myself for the game ahead.
For more information on refereeing and to get yourself started, visit www.acmewhistles.co.uk
