Fans are surprised to learn how much professional rugby referee's get paid

In the high-stakes world of rugby, referees hold the pivotal role of arbitrating the game's intense battles on the field.

With each whistle blow, their decisions can sway the outcome, making their job one of the toughest in sports.

Referees' earnings hinge on their category: rookies, women, or seasoned pros. For those new to the scene, like rookies and female referees, the paycheck typically hovers around £400 per match, summing up to roughly £16k annually.

Yet, it's the seasoned professionals who rake in the big bucks. For lower-tier clashes, they can pocket a cool £1.2k, while officiating at the main events could fetch them a hefty £2.2k per match, boasting an impressive yearly income of £160k.

However, the spotlight shined even brighter for the illustrious 2024 Six Nations referees, with reports swirling that they'll command a staggering £5k per game.

Now that's a payday worth blowing the whistle for!

Ben O'Keeffe is one of New Zealand's six full-time rugby referees. Alongside O'Keeffe's on-field role, which sees him take charge of Super Rugby's most exciting talents, the 34-year-old is also a fully-qualified ophthalmologist or eye doctor.

Dr Ben specialises in eye health and disease, and he is the Director and Founder of oDocs Eye Care. O'Keeffe established the organisation eight years ago, with the company striving to end preventable blindness through state of the art techniques.

The goal of oDocs is to make eye care more affordable across the globe, with the rugby referee at the heart of the ground-breaking progressions.

When he wasn't laying down the law on the rugby pitch, South African referee Jaco Peyper operates as an Attorney for his family business. Peyper Attorneys are legal representatives who work on court cases across South Africa.

Well known to fans of the Premiership and International test matches, Wayne Barnes is one of the most on-the-ball officials across rugby.

Barnes has earnt the on-field respect from players and rugby fans alike, yet away from the pitch the 44-year-old is a barrister, and one of the founding members of Fulcrum Chambers.

Barnes is a Director of Fulcrum Group Services, with his areas of expertise lying in White Collar Crime, Corporate Governance and Compliance, Asset Forfeiture and Tracing and Confiscation. Barnes also heads up their Sports Law team and uses his experience of supporting corporate clients whilst still being heavily involved at the top end of professional sport.

Despite calling time on his on-field refereeing career, legendary Welsh referee Nigel Owens has previously appeared as a pundit for BBC Sport, lending his thoughts on high-profile refereeing decisions.

The stage is set for Owens to once again have his say on the competition's refereeing calls, but away from the sport Owens is a keen farmer in his homeland.

Owens lives off the land in the Gwendraeth Valley some 15 miles north-west of Swansea. Long before he was dishing out discipline in his trademark style,

Owens started out working on a dairy farm near his childhood home in the village of Mynyddcerrig. He was a keen member of Llanarthne Young Farmers Club, too.

Age: 34

Nationality: Irish/Welsh

Occupation: Musician

He is a grade eight violinist. His violin teacher was the mother of TV presenter Gethin Jones.

Brace said: “ I think one of the toughest players I’ve refereed would be Marcel Coetzee. He’s such a physical player who never takes a backward step.”