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FWC: FRA v MAR LIVEPositive Vibes Only: Wellington Sport’s push to tackle referee abuse
Regan Harrison • July 10th, 2026 8:50 am
Photo: Photosport
Due to ongoing referee abuse, the Wellington Rugby Referees Association has made the decision to pull out of club fixtures this weekend.
The decision comes after 19 complaints from the referees association this season alone, during which 2300 games of rugby have been played across all age groups.
Wellington Rugby Union boss Tony Giles joined Sport Nation's Millsy & Guy on Tuesday, saying seven of those cases involved verbal dissent or abuse from players towards referees. The WRU has made it clear it has a zero-tolerance policy for this sort of behaviour.
Giles said a meeting was held with the Wellington Sports Trust, bringing together 20 participants from other regional sports organisations. The main talking point of the meeting was a new programme called Positive Vibes.
“Positive Vibes is around how sporting organisations can change culture or its administrators on how we deliver, which in turn provides a better environment for those involved in our game,” Giles explained.
The Positive Vibes programme was started by Matthew Cooper at Sport Waikato and has now been rolled out across the country this year, with plans to promote a new programme directed at women in coaching.
The Ako Wāhine programme, based in Wellington, is designed for women only, including mothers, supporters or any women new to coaching. Participants will learn rugby coaching and leadership skills.
Fatigue is another issue the WRFU is currently facing.
Ref abuse must end | Scotty & Izzy
Referees are largely officiating multiple games each weekend, and with the WRFU having 67 active referees to cover 200 games, that can take a significant toll throughout a season.
“They’re fatigued and we want to support them and provide more resources, right? So let’s work together on what that threshold is, what the reporting accountability is, and educate our participants,” Giles said.
Giles said the union plans to bring more support and understanding to its referees, with one idea being the possibility of allocating a referee to a club training each week.
“If we can get a ref engaged with a club, and they support the players and a coach on a club night to actually give them direction of what their narrative is, that will go a long way to bringing the players onside.”
Giles acknowledged the decision was unfair to clubs and teams that had not been involved in any wrongdoing, but said the cancellation of fixtures this weekend was necessary.
“We have to have a united stance and zero tolerance is where we want to get to.
“All the clubs have unanimously supported that process and the union will now deliver on it.”
Giles said the focus now was on how the union could better educate the entire system between now and the start of next season, to ensure they are not put in a position where further matches need to be cancelled.
Listen to the full interview below:
