Counties Manukau Rugby’s leading referee Liam Sargent has enjoyed a meteoric rise since taking up refereeing and will control a Farah Palmer Cup semi-final this weekend.
But his start came almost by chance – now he hopes his story can inspire another generation of referees.
“I first took up refereeing after completing the You Make the Call secondary schools’ course in 2018,” Sargent explained.
“In all honestly, I was just doing the course to gain the NCEA credits. But after completing the course I became interested in what refereeing had to offer as it looked like a neat way to stay involved in rugby as I was no longer playing.
“So, I signed up to the Referees Association and haven’t looked back since.
“Now fast forward to this year - I am in the lucky position to be the Referee Education Officer looking after all things referees in Counties Manukau.”
A few years on and Sargent has already secured some significant refereeing appointments and enjoyed some career milestones.
“I’d say refereeing this weekend’s Farah Palmer Cup semi-final between Waikato and Auckland would be my biggest highlight/appointment thus far.
However, all my FPC games this year have been a highlight being my first year in this space. Outside of this, any time I get to referee a McNamara Cup match is a privilege as they are all exciting match ups and some quality rugby to be a part of.
“To be given my FPC debut was a reward of a lot of hard work and sacrifice I have given to refereeing. I was over the moon as it has always been a goal of mine to reach first class level as a referee. To be able to represent CMRRA and CMRFU on the national stage is something a young Sarg would have been thrilled with when he started his refereeing journey at 16 years old.”
There is no doubt that refereeing is a challenging job and Sargent has had to overcome a couple of unique hurdles to fulfil his dreams.
“I have always been a smaller and younger looking referee which was a challenge when I first started,” he said. “I remember being fresh out of school having to referee current/ex steelers who had been involved in the game before I was even born.
“This was not easy to oversee 30 players who all knew more than the referee! But I think this was great to be challenged for my growth as a referee building up my confidence and resilience which has probably got me to the position I am in today.”
And if Sargent had ant advice to give people that even half contemplated refereeing as a pathway – he would tell them not to hesitate.
“To put it simply. A lot of the feedback from our referees is that they wish they signed up earlier. It is a great way to stay involved with the games that comes with a lot of reward. It is a great feeling knowing you have given 30 or so players the opportunity to play the game they love. Because if it wasn’t for us. There would be no game played.”
