He knew a lot of high-performance rugby referees and they often told him the skills he had from netball were transferable to rugby. It was testament to the Otago Rugby Referees group that he and Mr Hannon had been able to develop as quickly as they had, he said. After several years refereeing, Mr Hannon realised there were opportunities, as well as the enjoyment and challenge. The pair knew each other through rugby, before Mr Hannon graduated and moving to Blenheim for a year. There were only five people in New Zealand refereeing rugby as a job.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 14, 2021 16:30 UTC