A key World Rugby official was among the crowd at the 27th Vailima Marist Sevens last weekend.
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He was Frank Meiklejohn, the Chairman of the Referees Selectors in Oceania. Mr. Meiklejohn was in Apia as part of his role to scout and offer assistance to local referees.
Prior to the tournament, Mr. Meiklejohn and two other top World Rugby Sevens referees, Rasta Rasivehengi and James Bolabiu conducted clinics for local referees.
“There is a real need to develop match officials in the Pacific in general, especially in Fiji and Samoa,” he told the Samoa Observer. “We really need to have good match officials so we are working with the I.R.B. towards the Sevens and the fifteens game.” After a few days in Samoa, Mr. Meiklejohn said there is a lot of potential but such potential needs proper development.
“To do that, we need to identify first and have a look at them,” he said. A big part of refereeing these days, he said, involves working with the teams so the players understand the laws of the game.
Mr. Meiklejohn said that was one of the points stressed during last week’s sessions.
“A lot of it had to do with techniques,” he said adding that rugby has become a very technical sport.”
According to Mr. Meiklejohn, improving referees will also improve the game in the Pacific as they will be able to help local teams learn, adapt and adjust to the laws of the game so they can get the results they need.
Based in Fiji, Mr. Meiklejohn returned on Sunday.
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