The Wellington Rugby Referees Association has opted not to appoint officials for this weekend’s fixtures amid ongoing abuse.

The move follows three instances of verbal abuse of referees during weekend games.

Wellington Rugby Referees Association president and chair Ben van Berkel says this follows an accumulation of incidents that took place over the past year. 

"Referees are a resilient bunch, but we've also said that the behaviour we walk past on is the behaviour we accept - so we want to make sure that we report all the incidents this year."

LISTEN ABOVE

The Wellington Rugby Referees Association has opted not to appoint officials for this weekend’s fixtures amid ongoing abuse.
The move follows three instances of verbal abuse of referees during weekend games.
Wellington Rugby Referees Association president and chair Ben van Berkel says this follows an accumulation of incidents that took place over the past year.&nbsp;
"Referees are a resilient bunch, but we've also said that the behaviour we walk past on is the behaviour we accept - so we want to make sure that we report all the incidents this year."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Ben van Berkel: Wellington Rugby Referees Association president on the organisation not appointing officials this weekend amid abuse

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/02ace218-881c-4824-a726-b47f006cdd8d/transcript

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday  6 July.

Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Monday 6 July. 
Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Full Show Podcast: 06 July 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/0af7ca54-d257-4107-8e56-b47f0076b6bb/transcript

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!

National is looking to prioritise seven new free trade deals if they get re-elected again. Do we think this is a good idea? 

Winston Peters says voting is a 'privilege' and only citizens should get to vote. What do we make of this, do we agree?

What do we make of the Greens' plan to regulate water and phase out nitrogen fertiliser? 

LISTEN ABOVE

Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more!
National is looking to prioritise seven new free trade deals if they get re-elected again. Do we think this is a good idea?&nbsp;
Winston Peters says voting is a 'privilege' and only citizens should get to vote. What do we make of this, do we agree?
What do we make of the Greens' plan to regulate water and phase out nitrogen fertiliser?&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

The Huddle: Do we agree with Winston Peters' stance on voting?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9969314b-ae8f-4a9f-b491-b47f007bc0b1/transcript

How good was that All Blacks test?

I want to say I'm a little surprised by the number of commentators moaning about it and saying they're not impressed - but if I'm completely honest with you, I'm not that surprised.

Some of the criticism is fair. There were fumbles, there were discipline issues, the French scored first, they threatened throughout the game and it was a very close scoreline in the end.

But some of the criticism feels like it's still stuck in 2011, 2013 or 2015, back when the All Blacks were at their peak.

The norm has changed. The Northern Hemisphere has caught up since then. The French are not a side to be underestimated.

We do it every time. We say, "Oh, they're not sending a full-strength team." It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether they send an A team, a B team or a C team. They have so much depth in that competition now. They're good, whoever comes here.

So I think we probably underestimated who we were playing and thought there should have been - what was it Piney said? - 12 or 13 points on the French.

Plus, don't forget, this was the first test of the season and it is always a shaky start, especially lately, for the All Blacks. It's also the first test for a new coach and this was a team that had only been in camp together for, what, 10 days? Something like that.

When you consider all of that, it was actually impressive. It was a confident start. It was fast-paced. It was full of opportunity. There was a hunger for possession. I loved it.

I loved watching a team that wanted to win and seemed to have some idea of how it was going to do it.

Yes, of course, the critics make some fair points and you have to acknowledge them. But the All Blacks showed some spark and, most importantly, they won.

If it wasn't good, it was good enough, wasn't it?

LISTEN ABOVE

How good was that All Blacks test?
I want to say I'm a little surprised by the number of commentators moaning about it and saying they're not impressed - but if I'm completely honest with you, I'm not that surprised.
Some of the criticism is fair. There were fumbles, there were discipline issues, the French scored first, they threatened throughout the game and it was a very close scoreline in the end.
But some of the criticism feels like it's still stuck in 2011, 2013 or 2015, back when the All Blacks were at their peak.
The norm has changed. The Northern Hemisphere has caught up since then. The French are not a side to be underestimated.
We do it every time. We say, "Oh, they're not sending a full-strength team." It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether they send an A team, a B team or a C team. They have so much depth in that competition now. They're good, whoever comes here.
So I think we probably underestimated who we were playing and thought there should have been - what was it Piney said? - 12 or 13 points on the French.
Plus, don't forget, this was the first test of the season and it is always a shaky start, especially lately, for the All Blacks. It's also the first test for a new coach and this was a team that had only been in camp together for, what, 10 days? Something like that.
When you consider all of that, it was actually impressive. It was a confident start. It was fast-paced. It was full of opportunity. There was a hunger for possession. I loved it.
I loved watching a team that wanted to win and seemed to have some idea of how it was going to do it.
Yes, of course, the critics make some fair points and you have to acknowledge them. But the All Blacks showed some spark and, most importantly, they won.
If it wasn't good, it was good enough, wasn't it?
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: The All Blacks showed some spark in that first test

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/7f0486e5-1eea-4d26-9461-b47f00761e54/transcript

Ben van Berkel: Wellington Rugby Referees Association president on the organisation not appointing officials this weekend amid abuse

In 1 playlist(s)

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips