The Uganda Rugby Union (URU) over the weekend held a refresher course for referees at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds. The course was moderated by World Rugby Trainer, David Kirabira and World Rugby Educator, Ramsey Olinga.
“We are holding our first referees refresher course after a whole year of no rugby to bring them up to speed with the protocols around the health of the players and the sport in general. We also want to see if they understand the COVID 19 SOPs in regards to resumption of rugby because they will be in control of the games.” Ramsey Olinga also URU CEO said.
According to URU press release, during the four-hour refresher course, the referees were given a test to examine their knowledge on the new World Rugby Laws which was later followed by physical demonstration of where the laws are applied. This session was moderated by Ramsey Olinga with reference from the Laws of Rugby app.
The second session of the day covered preparation and planning of a referee ahead of the games. The interactive session moderated by David Kirabira included a self-evaluation moment where referees were tasked to rate themselves in terms of fitness, knowledge of rugby laws and mental preparation ahead of the league starting on 6th March. David later asked the referees to write down their goals ahead of the league and also advised them on how best they can achieve them. He later assigned each referee with a mentor to monitor their progress ahead of the league.
The third session was moderated by Ramsey Olinga, who took the referees through the COVID19 SOPs before and during the games. This included what the rugby union expects from various rugby facilities like having hand washing equipment, availability of sanitizers and temperature guns at the grounds. He also encouraged the referees to be very observant towards the players and report any suspicious behavior in regards to signs of COVID19.
The referees will undergo one more test which will be a determinant of who will officiate the various league games starting on 6th March 2021. This test will take place on 20th February 2021 at 11:00am at Kyadondo. He also emphasized that the successful referees will be chosen on merit.
