Russell Smith (referee)

Russell Smith is a former rugby league referee who now administers and coaches match officials.

Smith controlled his first Rugby Football League Championship match on 9 September 1990, a match between Featherstone Rovers and Hull Kingston Rovers. His first international was between Australia and New Zealand on 20 June 1993.[1]

He controlled matches in the 1995 and 2000 Rugby League World Cups, as well as five Challenge Cup finals.[2] In 2004 he was named the international referee of the year.[3]

He moved to Australia in 2005, becoming a National Rugby League referee.[4] He retired at the end of the 2006 NRL season.[1]

After retiring, Smith became a video official and, after a stint as the interim boss,[5][6] acted as a senior advisor to the referees boss, Daniel Anderson.[7][8] He was a match officials coach at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[9]

References
  1. Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "- Russell Smith (referee)". Rugby League Project.
  2. "Smith quits after 15 years as ref". BBC News. 7 September 2006.
  3. "It's official! Top ref Russell's ready to take on best". Yorkshire Evening Post.
  4. "Referee Russell Smith,right, reveals how the decision to swap the cosy familiarity of Castleford for the sun, sea and surf of Sydney is proving to be a dream move for both him and his family". Yorkshire Post.
  5. "Russell Smith placed in temporary charge of referees in Australia's NRL". Sky Sports.
  6. "Russell Smith set to lead NRL refs". Love Rugby League. 31 May 2012.
  7. "Archer, Smith in line for top ref jobs". Daily Telegraph.
  8. Carayananis, Michael (22 August 2013). "Former NRL referee Harrigan blasts Anderson". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. "RLWC2017 Match Officials Announced". RLWC2017. 9 October 2017.
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