Colin Te Pohe, Warren Quennell and Richard Gordon attended the Dubai 7s at the start of December. Here is Col’s diary on the tournament and what his experience was as a first timer.
My week in the sandpit
Final Dubai Report
The morning started off bright and early for Aaron and I getting up at 5:30am to make sure we had enough time to prepare for the long day ahead. We managed to get to the venue at around 8am to have a look around where all the pitches were and also to see the main pitch and all its glory. It’s hard to believe that the only thing that was holding up most of the stands is scaffolding.
Referees on tour in Dubai – Update 2
Tuesday 1st December 2015. After an early start we headed into the heart of Dubai to get a feel for the city and experience a few of the many amazing features that were on display. We visited the Jumeirah Beach Residence area with fellow referees from USA, Canada and Ireland…
Referees on tour in Dubai – Day 1
Aaron, Jamie, and Bernie headed off to Dubai on Sunday to referee in the Dubai 7s Festival.
Nick Hogan on his Japan interchange
This was a hugely valuable experience for me in helping to develop my refereeing. While the social side and the treats on the side were really cool and a huge part of it the experienced I gained from refereeing was the main part of the trip. The language barrier was a huge challenge and was something I had to adapt. This combined with having to quickly learn a new style of rugby was something that I think will only improve my refereeing.
