FROM PORIRUA TO PARIS, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN: MATT RODDEN ON HIS REFEREEING CAREER AND OFFICIATING ON THE WORLD’S BIGGEST STAGE

[21 Oct 2024] Those who have had the pleasure of sharing a pitch (or a pint) with Matt know he is a pretty relaxed guy. Perhaps it is that cool head that attracted World Rugby’s attention and led to his development and appointment as a Television Match Official (TMO) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. After all, having to make crucial, split-second decisions with a global audience of millions is no mean feat. 

It takes a certain kind of person to execute skills like that under extreme pressure, and a lifetime of learning. From a young age, Matt always knew he wanted to be a referee. He credits his beginnings in rugby as the typical fairy tale New Zealand introduction – barefoot in the backyard, oranges at halftime and a rugby mad family. 

“My family were all into it; my brothers played, dad played and mum was always very supportive of us. But from a young age I was always interested in refereeing, and I don't really know why. At school when we'd play rugby at lunchtime I would referee. Maybe I was born to be a ref.”

Lunchtime rugby was enough to keep the fire stoked, as by Matt’s own admission, he didn’t become a more serious referee until he was much older. 

“It’s usually a surprise to most people that I actually went and did a referee course as an adult. From there, I started refereeing youth rugby on Saturday mornings before playing adult rugby in the afternoons. I pretty quickly realised that I was a much better ref than a player and knew I would need to make a decision pretty quickly whether I wanted to take refereeing seriously.

“It was around that time I moved over these ways and got involved with refereeing in Hong Kong. So I had a pretty short refereeing career in New Zealand before I moved here. I consider myself a Hong Kong referee, not a mercenary – people often think expats who are refereeing have moved to further their skills, but Hong Kong is my home, and I am proud to say that I’m a Hong Kong China referee. There is a good rugby scene here and a good refereeing support network.”

When pressed on the process to go from a local referee to the international stage, Matt often humbly credits a lot of luck. 

“Immersing myself in rugby and educating others about refereeing helped me to develop quicker and get some really good opportunities internationally, first through Asia Rugby and then on the World Sevens Series from 2016. 

“After spending a while on the Series, Paddy [O’Brien, World Rugby Sevens Referee Manager] approached me and said that he would like me to join the team as a performance reviewer and TMO. I wasn't expecting to be offered that opportunity but felt really comfortable with it straight away. It felt like the right thing to do. I'd achieved everything I wanted to achieve in Sevens refereeing, including 100 games on the Series and being involved in the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.”

Even though Matt refers to luck, it's quite a leap to go from Saturday afternoon at So Kon Po to the Stade de France. There is a lot of physical, mental and tactical skill required to remain at the top of your game as a referee (and TMO), as well as a huge amount of work behind the scenes. 

“Obviously you have to keep really fit, you have to study a lot, so that means you're ready to go all the time – keep up with your laws and maintain yourself at that level. We have to keep ourselves current just like players and coaches do – the game is always evolving, and we have to evolve with it as well. There are going to be times within your career where you do get a slice of luck, but my message to our referees is you have to be ready when that opportunity comes because if you're not ready to grab it with both hands, you'll miss it.”

That moment came when Matt was invited to TMO at the 2024 Olympics, undoubtedly a great honour, but not one without a certain amount of pressure attached. 

“It was great to be offered that opportunity, and I'm really happy to have gone on that three-year journey preparing for Paris. It might be a surprise to some people, but we do a hell of a lot of work to prepare for these events, including working with the best of the best to ensure we’re always learning. Andy [Friend, ex-Australia Sevens] came in as a consultant for a couple of tournaments and was really impressed with the amount of work that the referees and the management team put in. We're always looking at game trends, we're looking at things that we didn't get quite right in previous tournaments, both individually and collectively. 

“We were lucky enough to have a week in Portugal as a group to kind of fine-tune those things that we've worked out over three or four years, which set us up really nicely to head off to Paris. And then on the ground it was all systems go.” 

Along with the travel, fitness and knowledge required to be a top-level referee, it’s important to develop other skills as well – emotion regulation, teamwork and stress management are key tools of the trade. 

“You’re in a team environment in high pressure situations with people from different cultures and levels of experience, so being a good team player is really important. Understanding the game and what players are trying to achieve, and having empathy for certain situations – that’s what separates the good referees from the great referees. 

“Interacting with teams and coaches pre- and post-tournament, managing moving parts and securing buy-in is all critical stuff – so clear communication skills become paramount.”

There can be a darker side to refereeing which Matt acknowledges is part of the role but is becoming more openly discussed, with a view to mitigating poor player and fan behaviour. 

“You have to learn to tune out that white noise, whether it's from the sideline or from the players, because it's part of the role and it's part of the game. It's a physical game; you have tired players and passionate fans. Everyone wants to win, and we know the referee is part of that. Criticism exists, so you need a bit of a thick skin. Of course that never excuses abusive behaviour either in person or online, and some really good things happening to protect officials, players and coaches from some pretty horrific stuff that does go on in small parts of our game.

“The key is to have trust in yourself, trust in your processes and go out there and do the best job you can do. None of us will ever be perfect, and I’d like to think we are the first to admit that. Players and coaches make mistakes too – but sport isn’t a perfect product. It wouldn’t be as exciting if it was.”

Paris 2024 was undoubtedly a great success for rugby sevens, with record breaking crowds of almost 70,000 fans packed into the stadium and potentially millions more tuning in on broadcast (official figures are still on the way from the IOC). Matt remains humble about the experience, but is very keen to highlight the impact a tournament like this has on the sport. 

“You kind of mentally prepare yourself for what it's going to be like, but it still blows you away. The French really got behind the rugby – it was amazing. There are a lot of good stories happening around players like Antoine Dupont and Ilona Maher. Other standout players for me were Zac Ward [Irish forward] and Selestino Ravutuamada [Fijian back]. Players like that really break the game open and get the fans excited. The New Zealand speedster Michaela Blyde is always exceptional and Chen Keyi from China was electric as well. There were other exciting narratives around the women’s Canada and USA teams doing really well, which was very engaging for fans.

“It's a great way of growing the game – fans can see an athlete that they can connect with, whether it's on social media or in person. They may not be rugby fans, but being able to follow that player and grow their interest in the game is really positive.” 

When pressed on any final thoughts or key takeaways from his career so far, Matt is contemplative. 

“The best part of my job is being able to help other referees. I've always enjoyed seeing referees that I work with have success as well, which you get to see especially in the performance review role, but also that it's pretty complementary with my work and my role here working with our referees in Hong Kong. I’m excited for the future of refereeing here and just really grateful that I get to do what I’m passionate about and to share that with others.”

Information and photo source : Hong Kong China Rugby