No Games Saturday 11 July 2026

There will be no rugby on Saturday 11 July 2026 as the Wellington Rugby Referees Association will not provide referees.

Here is their statement:

𝙒𝙍𝙍𝘼 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙚:

The President and Chair of the Wellington Rugby Referees Association (WRRA), Ben Van Berkel, confirms that the Executive Committee of the WRRA has decided to not appoint referees to any grade for a weekend of 10-12 July. We had previously advised the WRFU of our intent to not appoint referees if referee abuse continued to occur and following three more referee abuse incidents on Saturday, no referees will be appointed next weekend.

Van Berkel noted that this season already, we have had 19 reported incidents of verbal abuse towards referees, which is not acceptable to his association. He also pointed out that the abuse has occurred across junior club rugby, secondary schools’ rugby and senior club rugby, not all reports have come from within the referees, with some being submitted by members of the public and the abuse has come from players, club and school volunteers and spectators.

“The WRRA continues, and will continue, to support Wellington Rugby but we have a duty and obligation to support and protect our members first and foremost” Van Berkel says. He reiterates that this decision by the Executive Committee was not made lightly, but given the widespread nature of this continued abuse, we believe all reasonable options have been exhausted and need to take this stand to support and protect our members.

The WRRA has advised Tony Giles, CEO of the Wellington Rugby Football Union, of their decision and looks forward to working closely with him regarding this issue.

This is the club's comment to this:

Kia ora whānau,

Like many of you, we're disappointed that there will be no Wellington club rugby this Saturday following the decision by the Wellington Rugby Referees Association not to provide referees.

While it's disappointing for players, coaches, volunteers, supporters, and clubs, it's also a timely reminder of why this decision was made.

Referee abuse has no place in our game.

Our referees and match officials give up their time each week because they love rugby. They deserve to be treated with the same respect we expect for our players, coaches, and volunteers. Without referees, there is no game.

We all have a role to play in changing the culture, whether you're a player, coach, manager, parent, supporter, or club member. Challenge poor behaviour, lead by example, and help create an environment where everyone feels safe and valued.

Next time emotions are running high, remember that the person in the middle is someone's son, daughter, mum, dad, brother, sister, partner, or friend. Treat them with the kindness and respect you would want your own whānau to receive.

Let's use this moment to reflect, learn, and commit to making our game better for everyone.