For the first time ever Rugby Australia referees will wear special indigenous jerseys thanks in large part to Illawarra duo Tyson McEvoy and Uncle Kevin Butler.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Illawarra District Rugby Union referee McEvoy teamed up with Aboriginal artist Uncle Kevin Butler to design a special indigenous jersey. which Illawarra referees wore during a round of matches to celebrate NAIDOC Week last year.
Rugby Australia head of inclusion Amy Perrett was so impressed, she teamed up with McEvoy and Uncle Kevin Butler to design another indigenous jersey specifically for Australian referees.
This weekend Rugby Australia officials will wear the jerseys as part of Super Rugby Pacific's Culture Round celebrations.
"For the first time ever the referees are going to be involved with a First Nations jersey," she said.
"That's never happened before. In the past the teams have worn and come up with First Nations jerseys off their own bat but this is the first time the Australian referees will be involved, unfortunately the New Zealand referees didn't have enough time to get the jerseys sorted.
"They won't be involved in their home games but for the two home games in Australia referees will be wearing this jersey."
McEvoy, who was presented his own jersey this week, was ecstatic referees officiating the NSW Waratahs v Highlanders game in Sydney and the Reds v Force game in Queensland, would be wearing the jersey.
"I'm pretty excited. This is the first time they've ever done it. To think an idea I came up with for Illawarra refs is now being adopted for Rugby Australia referees is something special," the 28-year-old Berkeley man said.
"i'm so glad Amy loved the idea when I told her about it at the Country Championships during the June long-weekend.
I'm pretty excited. This is the first time they've ever done it. To think an idea I came up with for Illawarra refs is now being adopted for Rugby Australia referees is something special,
- Illawarra referee Tyson McEvoy
"She jumped on board and really pushed the idea along and now it has come to fruition."
Perrett, the first female to referee a Super Rugby fixture, before retiring to become RA's head of inclusion, said McEvoy had played an integral role in the jersey design and implementation.
"Since telling us about the Illawarra design Tyson has been involved throughout the process from helping us find the artist Uncle Kevin Butler to the design itself, around what it means to be a referee and how that should be symbolised into the jersey," she said.
"We got to show it to them over the weekend for the very first time, that was pretty exciting."
Perrett said it was real important Rugby Australia got on board and supported their referees wearing the First Nations' jersey.
"Not only because teams do it but because as referees we want to show that culture and heritage is really important to us as well. We are a diverse group of individuals and we want to celebrate that kind of diversity within our community at this special round as well," she said.
'That's probably why we did it and why it is quite significant. Usually the referees like to stick in the background and go unnoticed but I think for us it is incredibly important that we get behind these kind of initiatives and celebrate the people who make up our referee community."
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.
Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play