'Record-Breaking Referee' - How Ben Connor became the youngest ever URC match official

It’s been a remarkably rapid rise, but Connor is taking it all in stride. “Rugby has been in my life since I was born. I have always wanted to be involved in the game,” he says. “I played up until I was 16 for Abertillery RFC and a bit for Dragons U16s. I was a No 10, the same as dad.”

His father, Shaun Connor, was a fly-half for the Ospreys and Dragons, and now works with the Wales women’s team. But despite following in those footsteps early on, Ben recognised he’d need a different path.

“When I was 16, I realised I wasn’t particularly the biggest person. There were boys the same age as me who were a foot taller and weighing lots more. So I just thought there have got to be other ways to be involved.”

“Luckily, I had already done a bit of refereeing. I did my level one course when I was 14 and the last two years I was playing, I combined that with reffing junior games. As soon as I turned 16, it was a case of either refereeing or playing basically.

“I had started to enjoy refereeing more than playing and realised there were probably more opportunities for me in going down that road. So, I thought why not give it a go? I stopped playing and started refereeing every Saturday—second team and youth team games. So that’s how it started.”

At 18, he took charge of his first senior first team match in Division 5 and 6. His progression was supported by WRU referee coach Sean Brickell and later, Ian Davies—now the union’s elite match official manager.

“I have always had a good relationship with Ian,” Connor says. “He has been there and guided me from Division Five all the way up to where I am now.”

In 2023, Connor became the first overseas referee since 1964 to officiate the feature match at South Africa’s iconic Craven Week in George.

“You go over there thinking it’s an U18s schools tournament and you get there and some of the boys who were 16, 17, 18 were absolutely towering over me and probably twice my weight!

“The standard of schoolboy rugby in South Africa is just unbelievable—the physicality, the speed of it. It was a great experience.”

Then came his historic URC debut, as he called the action between Zebre Parma and the Emirates Lions.

“I was on my way home from a Sevens tournament in Colorado in August when Ian (Davies) rang me,” he reveals.

“He asked me how it had gone and then said ‘Oh, one more thing, you’ve got a URC game in October’.

“I was obviously a bit shocked because I had no inkling this was going to come. I didn’t expect it for at least another couple of years.

“But, as soon as I knew I’d got it, it was just a case of looking forward to it. It was another opportunity to put my name out there and show what I can do.”

Reflecting on the tight 10-9 contest between the Italian side and the South African franchise, he adds:

“It was good. My main aim going out there was obviously to referee well, but also, being so young, not to look out of place. There was obviously a lot of chat about how young I was, the same with the Judgement Day game, with articles about how I am only 21.

“But, ultimately, as soon as you step on the field, players, coaches and spectators are not really bothered by how young or how old you are, it’s just whether you do a good job.”

He followed up with two major sevens finals: South Africa v France in Cape Town, and Argentina v France in Hong Kong.

“I don’t really suffer from nerves. I feel like I referee better when there’s a bit of pressure on me,” he says.

“If you are going out to referee the final of the Hong Kong Sevens in front of 40,000 people, it’s just excitement and looking forward to it.

“The Sevens equips you for refereeing at big stadiums in front of lots of people, having to make decisions under pressure.”

Then came the Judgement Day appointment in April at the Principality Stadium, his second time reffing at the home of Welsh Rugby, but a world apart from his first.

“I had refereed there once before, a Dewar Shield U16s final between Cardiff and Rhondda Schools in 2022,” he says. “I think there were probably a couple of hundred people there for that. So it was quite a different experience with Judgement Day.

“Of course I was aware going into the game what was on it, with both teams still able to qualify for the top eight. But, ultimately, I just had to focus on going out there and doing my job. I know it was Ospreys against Cardiff, but that day it just had to be black against red and get on with it.

“As soon as you start thinking about the occasion, you can lose your focus. It’s good to acknowledge there is a lot on the game, but when you go out there you just forget about it and do what you normally do.”

He’s developed a strong understanding of game flow, particularly when managing senior players despite his age.

“It’s probably tough being a bit younger,” he admits. I used to feel that I had to put my stamp on the game. Players are smart and as soon as they spot a bit of weakness, they know they can attack that and maybe take advantage of it. Now I feel I like to let the game breathe a bit maybe.

“It’s a case of the less whistle the better really because people don’t want to see you blowing the whistle, they want to see the players, it’s about them.

“I could pick out an offence at every breakdown if I wanted to referee that way. But, if you do that, you probably end up with 50 penalties and people will have turned off after 20 minutes because it’s just a rubbish game of rugby to watch.

“I think what the best referees do is realise in the first 10-15 minutes what the game needs. Does it need a lot of whistle and a lot of structure or are you able to sit back and allow the players to dictate how the game is going to unfold?”

Despite the scrutiny that comes with the job, Connor’s passion outweighs any pressure.

“The point I’m at now, I enjoy it too much to worry about the other stuff that comes with it,” he says.

With a record-breaking start and a bright future, Ben Connor looks set to be one of the defining referees of the next generation.