Grahamstown’s top schoolboy rugby referee, Sindile Ngcese, is set for a bright future if he continues to work hard at his game.
Grahamstown’s top schoolboy rugby referee, Sindile Ngcese, is set for a bright future if he continues to work hard at his game.
Ngcese was spotted by chance during a local rugby match, where the referee and a South African Rugby Union (Saru) scout, Mandla Dakuse, happened to be at the game.
Dakuse has begun working with Ngcese as a rugby referee coach and was recently called to ref at the Cambridge Festival, hosted by Cambridge in East London.
Here he reffereed two matches and was the assistant ref (linesman) at other matches during the festival. At the end of the tournament, the refs were given feedback from the various referee coaches, and Ngcese was selected to be part of the Saru academy for 2010.
The academy consists of upcoming referees from all across the country and will all get the chance to ref at the next level.
In August, about a dozen referees will be chosen from the academy and will be part of the contenders panel, where they will be able to ref in the university cup and be assistant refs for the Currie Cup.
From here the referees can work their way into the provincial panel – which is what every referee dreams of.
The Saru academy will hold a referees’ camp in Port Elizabeth on 9 July where refs from Western Province will join the EP refs.
Ngcese, who first picked up the referee whistle in 2000, was also a player at the time. He has since stopped playing the game and has dedicated his free time to perfecting his refereeing, hoping to represent South Africa as a referee one day.
Ngcese said that while refereeing is “a lonely job”, he added that blowing the game in front of you and being guided by the rules“is enjoyable”, as is knowing that you made honest and fair decisions.
For those upcoming referees, Ngcese stresses the importance of commitment, consistency, and being honest and firm while making decisions.
