South Africa’s Aimee Barrett-Theron and Italy’s Clara Munarini are two of rugby union’s best known female referees.
Together the pair officiated the final of this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup and shared their experience of this historic moment with the experts at ACME Whistles describing it as a pivotal moment for women’s rugby and talking more about life behind the whistle.
Reflecting on the final between England and Canada, Barrett-Theron said: “I know it’s cliche, but I’m not sure words can really describe that feeling of walking out the tunnel with these girls and just embracing the atmosphere, the noise, the people and just knowing by looking around that this day is special.
“Being part of the previous World Cup, we knew it was a big deal and that women’s rugby is doing incredible things, but this was the day that we knew things have changed in women’s rugby.
“It was Susie Wolff when she was with the F1 Academy who said it’s not about a moment, it’s a movement. But, for me this RWC has many incredible moments which have created an incredible movement and it was amazing.”
“We knew what it meant being appointed in a final and being part of it, and that it was one of the biggest events ever in terms of women’s sport, so I felt like we had a big responsibility,” adds Munarini.
“The atmosphere was incredible, and the pressure was a good pressure, a positive pressure because there was a big goal at the end of the 80 minutes, but it was the best end of an incredible six-week journey.”
The referees have worked together for years across various competitions and were “neighbours” during this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup tournament at the team accommodation in Kensington.
The pair emphasised the importance of connecting as a refereeing team, with Aimee noting that despite refereeing often being seen as an individual role, on and off the field they actually come together as a cohesive unit that supports each other.
“The players have their teams, so it’s really special for us to have our teams as referees too,” she said.
“We really have to make a lot of effort off the field to connect, to try and understand each other so that when we on the field we are strong and it makes it easy when we are dealing with good people like Clara and Hollie.
“They are easy to understand, and I think we’re probably the most relaxed out on the field because we’ve got each other’s backs and it’s an amazing place to be.”
Munarini added to that by saying the ability to be happy for each other’s appointments is really important, saying: “People maybe think that the referee works for herself but this is not true – we really work as a team and support each other and it’s a privilege to help someone else do her job as best she can and to share the incredible moments together.”
A personal highlight from the tournament for Aimee was refereeing both the opening match and the final.
“To start off the tournament was definitely a highlight and of course the final was a massive occasion thanks to the incredible rugby that was played,” she said.
“But another highlight for me was the off-field moments of developing incredible friendships and connections amongst the reffing teams because we’re living in a bubble together for six to seven weeks.
“It’s all about how we pull each other through and boost each other back up.
“Often the referee is seen as the criminal, or someone unlikeable but in the women’s game everyone loves them and there’s so much support. People want your autographs, your photos, and I remember being on the sideline wondering why they were asking me for these things when there’s Portia Woodman over there, for example, but the fans were so positive towards us a refs.
“And with the teams as well. I think the whole World Cup, everyone was in it for one goal – women’s rugby and striving for women in general, so there were on field highlights being part of the first and last game but also off field moments too that made the whole thing so special.”
When asked what they feel the biggest changes within rugby and refereeing have been since they started their careers, Aimee explained: “Things have changed massively both on the playing side and the refereeing side, of which I’ve experienced both.
“At the start of my journey in rugby the women’s game wasn’t even considered and there was still this mentality that women shouldn’t be playing rugby but that’s gradually started to change.
“2022 was brilliant for giving the world a glimpse of how amazing we can be, and I think this World Cup completely changed the mindsets. Obviously, the world is still male dominated however I think the growth has been exponential as far as the support, the investment, the professionalism of women’s rugby as a game and acknowledging the skills of the players.
“I’m so grateful I’m not playing anymore because I would get absolutely smashed and skill wise, I don’t think I’d make any team internationally. These women are so positive and they want lots of ball in play the opportunity to score.
“The kicking has improved dramatically and there were some incredible conversions and penalties taken in your general play kicks.
“And then lastly, the physicality over time, like I said in my day, Maggie Alphonsi was playing and she was one of the bigger hitters. But now I can say across the board, regardless of shape and size, there are some incredible tackles being put in.
“We as refs also have rigorous strength and training programmes to make sure that we can be the first people at the tackle, the first people following the ball. So that’s key to how the game is improving in terms of fitness and professionalism too.”
“I agree,” adds Clara.
“In the last 10 years, we have seen an incredible improvement in skills and the structure of the game, but also for us in terms of refereeing, we have improved a lot.
“We now are going deeper into analysing the games, analysing our decisions and the team’s structure and there is a stronger awareness in terms of what we must do, what we can’t do, what the games probably need from us.
“Comparing with the beginning of my career, like more or less 10 years ago, we are more aware in terms of our job, not just for one game before but for the entire tournament so it’s about noticing trends and about focus and thinking more like a professional.
“And in terms of physicality, both players and referees have made a great improvement in terms of depth of the speed. So yeah, it’s definitely another game compared with probably 5-6 years ago.”
In terms of whether the game is driving their improvements or if the officials are driving their own improvements because the game has moved on, Aimee had some thoughts, saying:
“It’s a combination of both. So, from the match official’s perspective, as much as the majority of us are not professional we do still see it as a professional programme as far as the training and conditioning.
“If you’re on top of that, your decision making is a lot better, your brain is not tired or fatigued. We always pride ourselves on our fitness to manage the seven to eight kilometres a game if we’re referring the accelerations, decelerations, the agility. So, you know that’s driven a lot by our management and our S&C.
“We’re fortunate enough that our management can drive that professionalism through it, but at the same time as the referees we’ve already taken that on board. I think probably a good few years ago there might have been one or two excuses about people not making training or not finishing their programme but now we’re all together. We’re on the field. We say we’re competing with ourselves, but there’s a good energy across the group that we have friendly competition against each other as well.”
When discussing the key personality traits for successful referees, both refs highlighted the importance of remaining calm under pressure, being logical thinkers, and staying authentic.
“Confidence is key,” replied Aimee.
“With so much chaos going on, you have to be strong in your decisions and be calm in the intense moments. You must be a logical thinker under pressure.
“There’s also a way to deal with players that helps put out the fires, but at the same time impresses the laws on them that they know. This is where you need to learn how to explain to them that you hear them and have empathy towards them while also reiterating that this is the law, so they need to adhere to your decision.
“For me, my neurodiversity definitely helps me and can be quite an advantage. There are certain things that I’ve had to work on too because some things put me at a disadvantage, for example my communication – I can be a bit direct, or I generally don’t like to communicate and the sensory side of things can be tricky at games.
“So, I’ve learned how to communicate with players and read their body language and try give them what they’re looking for while keeping the standards of the game.
“Having a strong sense of justice is always a good trait as a referee and I really push for fairness. So that ticks a lot of boxes, for refereeing.”
Adding to that, Clara said: “I think being calm and being authentic are very important because of course all of us, we have a lot of different qualities and personalities but when we are on the field we can sometimes try to change ourselves because we think that the game needs something different from what we can offer.
“That doesn’t work because under pressure it’s impossible to be someone who you are not. So, I think that showing who you are is OK and it works most of the time. I also think that having the ability and the skill to ask yourself before and after the game if you did enough for that game is important. Don’t be too worried about making mistakes or overanalyse things. Learn the lesson, move on and focus on your next game.”
Their advice for anyone wanting to take up the whistle is simple: “Jump in!” said Clara.
“It’s an incredible space to be in at the centre of the game,” adds Aimee.
“It’s a great way to challenge yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, both on the field and off it and an amazing feeling to be so much part of the action, feeling that intensity. There’s probably nothing else like it in life.
“They always say without the referee you can’t have a game. But as referees we say that we can’t have a game if we are without the players.
“Rugby has given me the confidence that I can take off the field as well to be my authentic self and it’s a great role for women coming into the game who don’t necessarily want to play but want to still be involved and contribute to a very important role.”
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