Shaunagh Brown in the middle
Shaunagh Brown is one of almost 700 women using free vouchers to train as referees or coaches.
With an RFU drive to get more women refereeing and coaching the game, former England prop Shaunagh Brown was recently one of the women and girls getting their whistles and qualifying as a match official.
Having discovered that Harlequins teammate Bryony Cleall had led a course, “I thought I’ll give that a go. Like most things in life, it was a question of why not? The course was free with an Impact voucher, and I was brought up to try anything offered free, to give everything a go.”
That try everything approach saw Shaunagh as an athlete represent England in the hammer throw at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as competing in discus and shotput. She joined Medway RFC in 2015, moved to Harlequins, made her England debut in 2017 and helped the Red Roses secure four Women’s Six Nations titles and Harlequins an Allianz Premier 15s title. She retired from international rugby with 30 Test caps after England's narrow World Cup final defeat to New Zealand last year.
“I went on the refereeing course with my 14-year-old nephew Alex and it was great watching him taking a position of authority, taking charge. He plays for Gillingham Anchorians and I used to coach his team but now they train twice a week so I coach the girls at the club.”
Refereeing her first game
After the course, Shaunagh refereed a match between Alex’s team and Maidstone, a close encounter that ended 22-20 to Alex’s opposing team.
“I told the coaches that this was my first game as a referee and afterwards they told me I had performed well, and all the boys were thanking me. I made sure I was teaching them along the way, explaining why I was making the calls. I’ve applied to join the Kent Referees Society so that I can referee adults as well as juniors. I’m happy to referee anyone. I’m not sure how far I want to take my refereeing. It’s a journey and I’ll see where it goes.”
Having stepped away from Test rugby, Shaunagh is now focused on Harlequins and various ambassadorial roles, including Raleigh International “which is about young people going on adventures”. She’s also looking forward to spending time with her Royal Engineers husband Benjii, who since their August wedding this year in St Lucia has recently been away on exercise for three months.
“He has no rugby background or knowledge but he’s very fit and recently played in a charity match. He said he only agreed to do it because of seeing the women play and now he says he has so much more respect for us, having experiencd a game.”
Shaunagh says she enjoys coaching the Gillingham girls “though they might turn up in tutus and there’s sadly a lot of pink at training! Right now though, with limited time to commit, I think I’d opt for refereeing. With coaching there’s lots of planning, numbers, who’s going to be there, organising kit, debriefing. Refereeing at this level I can turn up and cover a game, although I realise that time commitment changes the higher up you go.
“I think giving vouchers as part of the Impact scheme surrounding the home Rugby World Cup is brilliant and I would tell everyone to go along and give it a go, there’s so much more to rugby than playing. You might be injured or not want contact and you can go back to reffing sooner after having a baby. You may not feel confident at the start but as you learn more you realise that more important than the hand signals is safety and having fun.
“I’d love to see more women referees, different people bringing different perspectives, different relationships. The only thing I’d change is the players calling me Sir. Look I’m standing here in front of you, do I look like a Sir? You can call me Shaunagh, you can call me ref, you can even call me Miss, which some of the youngsters did because it’s what they might call their teachers. But sir?”
Stockton women only course
Shaunagh’s course at London’s Lattymer School was one of many. On October 7th, the Coach and Match Official Project team were at Stockton RFC to oversee one of the inaugural women-only England Rugby Referee Award courses.
Classroom activities preceded acquiring whistles, and they were joined by Francesca Johnson-Harding from Durham County who are determined to promote female officiating within the region as they look forward to the influence that Sunderland, as a host city for the RWC 2025, could have in the area. For many of the women and girls present, the stadium is nearby, and they know international rugby's arrival in the North East will inspire more women and girls to engage with rugby, either as players, referees, or volunteers at their local clubs.
They were also joined by Nikki O'Donnell, a Durham County Society referee who officiates at international and, having discovered rugby a bit later in life, and is an inspirational role model achieving remarkable success. She discussed the advantages of joining the local referee society and the life skills acquired as a referee, which positively impact everyday life.
One candidate shared her dream of becoming a professional rugby player or referee. Saying “Witnessing the transformational growth of the women's game is testament to the adage seeing is believing. In my own upbringing, women's rugby wasn’t professional, and I never thought I could pursue it professionally. However, young girls now have unwavering belief and actively engage with RFU courses which showcase the impact of tangible role models. Their strong support from their county and the voucher scheme undoubtedly contributes to the game's expansion for women and girls.”
The course's educators were excited about the experience of instructing an all-female group and talked of the transformation of individuals who might have been reserved in the classroom but had come into their own on the field, confidently wielding a whistle.
With an avalanche of applications for the Impact vouchers, distribution will happen again at the end of the season so that hundreds more women can qualify as referees or coaches in advance of England hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2025.
