At 69-years of age, Neil Byers could be excused from taking things easy and watching his favourite sport at his leisure.
But Neil is still the most active referee in the Holmen Iggesund Cumberland Amateur Rugby League, officiating sometimes eight times a week. On Sunday, for example, he’s taking three age-group matches at Maryport from Under-12s to Under-16s which follow one another.
This is his 41st season in the middle, and he’s showing no indication of being ready to hang up his whistle.
“I consider myself fit enough to keep going and I’ll know when it’s time to finish when I stop enjoying it,” he said.
His career as a referee started after he suffered a serious back injury while he was playing for Broughton Red Rose – but it wasn’t an immediate switch into the middle.
“I started doing some coaching at Cockermouth but to be quite truthful I hated it. Then my brother Alan, who was a referee, suggested I have a go so I did and the rest as they say is history.
“It was probably tough for me at the start because I was refereeing lads I used to play against, and I think some of them might have been trying to wind me up at times. But I stuck at it and have enjoyed it immensely,” he said.
From local matches, he progressed to Alliance and Academy matches, and the National Conference before joining the Super League panel of touch judges. He officiated at the 1995 World Cup and again in 2000.
“I never made Wembley but I did a Challenge Cup semi-final with Stuart Cummings in the middle. I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t chosen for the final although Stuart got it,” he recalled.
He did have the honour of being in charge of the 2010 BARLA National Cup final between Leigh East and Queens. Over the years, of course, he’s officiated at all the local Cumberland ARL finals.
Apart from the fact that he still enjoys refereeing and is happy to continue it’s also a fact that the local game is suffering badly from the lack of referees.
Alongside Rob Jones, Mike Burgess and Rob Ainsworth, he is the only senior referee the league can call on and Ainsworth is just coming back from injury.
“It’s a chronic shortage. We have tried all sorts, particularly to encourage ex-players, but they just don’t seem interested when they can’t play any more,” said Neil.
“I believe Gareth Hewer is retiring from Super League next year and he is going to take some games, while we also have a teenager who seems very keen, but we are desperate for more recruits.”
In the past, it has been claimed that verbal abuse from players has seen referees quit, while others have been reluctant to take up the whistle because of that.
Neil has sent off two players this season because of verbal abuse. One apologised straight after the game. So is it bad?
“No, it isn’t as bad as it used to be. It shouldn’t happen but you have to manage it as best you can,” he said. “I actually don’t think the standard of rugby generally is as high as it used to be but clubs didn’t have A teams then and competition for a place in the side was very keen.
“That doesn’t prevent me from loving being still out there in the middle. I think that’s what turned me off coaching, I just wanted to be more involved in games and refereeing allowed me to do that.”
Neil has lost track of the number of games he has officiated in over the years but whatever the figure – he’s very happy adding to it.
