DUBLIN (Reuters) – Joy Neville says selection on merit is more important to her than “tags and labels” as she prepares to become the first woman to officiate at a men’s Rugby World Cup in France later this year.
Neville has been selected as part of a seven-member Television Match Official (TMO) panel for the tournament and, while she understands the significance of the moment, wants to be acknowledged for her performance above all else.
“I’d like to think that I’m there because I’m good enough,” Neville told Reuters. “I’ve always asked to be selected through merit and for no other reason – drop all the other tags and labels.
“I understand there has to be a first and then the culture will change and hopefully more opportunity will open up for others to come through. But from my perspective, all I’ve ever asked from the lads is to treat me the exact same, and they certainly do that.”
Neville captained Ireland as a loose-forward and was part of the side that completed a Grand Slam in the 2013 Women’s Six Nations before she took up refereeing in retirement.
She became the first woman to take charge of a top level men’s game in the United Kingdom in 2018, having been named World Rugby Referee of the Year a few months earlier, and switched to the role of TMO following the birth of her son.
“I had my baby boy two years ago and happened to be given the opportunity then to get into TMOing because I wasn’t able to be on field,” she says.
“We soon saw that there was an opportunity for me to make it to a men’s World Cup as a TMO so it has been a bit of hard graft in the last couple of years.”
Neville said the role of TMO can be a thankless one, drawing criticism both for interfering to much or for not getting sufficently involved in matches.
But player welfare is at the forefront of officials’ minds when it comes to issues such as tackle height, she said.
“We’re looking to protect the players. We need to ensure that there’s lower tackle height. In the role of TMO sometimes you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” she says.
“(People say) ‘You should have come in there, or why did you come in there?’. I think it’s about striking a balance.”
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Alex Richardson)
