Refs Montage 2

Welcome to

Durham County Referees' Society

Founded in 1895

Society Training Meetings

The importance of staying up to date and refreshing your existing knowledge of all officiating matters cannot be stressed enough. The T&D group are planning some interesting new approaches.

Don’t be complacent and get caught out – come along to the training meetings..

The latest grading list can be found at

Grading List 48 – January 2026

Annual General Meeting.

The annual general meeting of the society will be held at Durham City RFC on Date TBC

Head Injury – Important Reminder

All Match Officials should be aware that Head Injury Assessments (HIA) are NOT permitted at the Community Rugby level.

This means all games that Durham Society Referees would be appointed to.

All match officials should ensure that they understand that if a player displays one or more observable signs or symptoms of concussion they should be removed from the pitch immediately and should not be allowed to return, irrespective of any alternative opinions held by the player, their team mates, coaches or physios. RFU Head Injury information

REMEMBER…. IF IN DOUBT, SIT THEM OUT

Law Changes

Most people are aware that law Changes or Law Trials are released by World Rugby and the RFU in January but don’t really affect the domestic game until the new competitions start from August. This year is no exception and T&D will be covering the changes at the first Training meeting which will be held before the new season starts

Match Official Abuse (MOA)

Despite great efforts by RFU, Clubs and officials and others, Match Official Abuse continues to be a problem across the whole game.

There is no room in the game for that type of behavior.

MOA A Guide for Referees

Completing a Red Card or Match Official Abuse Report

Society Annual Dinner 2025.

It is with regret for reasons beyond the Society’s control the Annual Dinner had to be cancelled.

Appointments.

It is no secret that despite the number of games falling this season, we as a society have struggled to cover them. I am pleased to say that from courses held in late 2025, a number of new referees have joined our numbers.

What’s more is that the feedback we have received is that they are really enjoying it despite the wet weather disrupting the fixtures.

We always can do with more referees so come and join us.

Society Membership

The Society is always keen to have new members and there are many aspects in which you can be involved . Obviously we are keen to have new refs but we also need people to take Videos, watch referees as well as a host of other roles – interested ?

RFU Regulation 12

RRF Regulation 12 is the RFU Regulation that covers Match Officials. See RFU Regulation 12

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service)

All referees are encouraged to ensure they have a current RFU DBS Check. It is an essential requirement for anyone that is to be involved in officiating an Age Grade game