fter eight years of being on the sidelines, I was finally going to be putting on the red bands again. Although it had been eight years since I last refereed, to be honest my love for the sport — and for refereeing — had waned several years before that. For at least the last three years before I walked away from it I didn’t enjoy refereeing and was doing it mainly for the money.

That showed in my performance, of that I have no doubt. So eventually I realized I wasn’t doing myself or anyone else any good, and I walked away.

Why I refereed

But I do remember, very vividly, what it was like to love refereeing. I started when I was 16, 28 long years ago, and enjoyed it immediately. I relished the challenge, the position of authority, the idea that it would only be my ability and desire that could limit my achievements, not someone else.

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