Malta Rugby Union Football (MRFU) referee Lionel da Silva has been rather busy this season.
The Portuguese official was selected to referee an international match between Cyprus and Slovenia and was also tasked to handle matches in France besides managing all his league commitments at the Marsa rugby ground.
Recently, Da Silva, who stopped playing rugby in 2008 to become a referee, conducted his first workshop here as part of an on-going initiative by Don Hewer, manager of Malta’s Rugby Union Referee Society, to bring MRFU players into closer contact with the officials and learn more about the game.
Da Silva’s intention is to continue climbing the refereeing ladder.
“Recently, I refereed a Regional Division One game in France. I went to Toulouse, which has produced some of the best French referees,” he said.
“It was a useful experience and a way to discover different rugby, speak another language. I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to going there again and ref a higher level game.
“It was also a good preparation for my game in Cyprus and a test to assess my skills as I was supervised by French officials of the Toulouse Referees’ Society.
“They helped me with their own experience and some good observations about my game that I have to correct because I didn’t reach perfection, not yet.”
Da Silva says Rugby Union has developed strongly in Malta over the last few years as the national team will again be engaged in a key World Cup qualifier at home to Switzerland on April 6.
“Malta is a small island but we’ve had some remarkable results on the international scene and now the national team are in the top 40... it’s a big achievement,” Da Silva said.
“Of course, the mix of players under the direction of national coach Damian Neill was part of this success. Neill has been strongly advocating development of the game here.
“Unfortunately, we are lacking referees though. I’m the youngest and we are all volunteers. Veterans like Bryan Cortlett and Edwin Ward are giving a hand but we still need more as we are not able to provide assistant referees on a regular basis in our top games.”
Last week was a first in recent times where three officials were present for the Malta A match against a visiting Sicilian side, with Andrew Camilleri and Edwin Ward helping Da Silva out.
It’s a trend that Hewer would like to build on further, a team of three referees who manage important local matches. He is of the opinion that everyone involved needs to work to improve player knowledge and imbue the spirit of the game – respect, fair play and discipline – across all segments of the game.
“We need to ensure that the junior and youth programmes instil our core values,” Hewer said.
“Lionel’s example and that of Steve Busuttil show that our referees have a standard that is internationally accepted.”
Communication
Community coach Daniel Holliday, who administers the GasanMamo Youth Programme, says communication between players and referees has improved.
“Club coaches have a responsibility to ensure the captains they choose are calm and balanced individuals who have a really strong and positive influence on the players around them,” the national team player said.
“It’s always a pleasure to work with intelligent captains who want a genuine answer to decisions and this benefits everyone.
The Rugby World Cup has set a real example on how captains can have a strong influence on their team-mates while also having open communication with the referee.
“The referees in Malta attend a lot of courses, this helps them to develop their skills. Also, workshops conducted by the referees give our players direct access to decision-making, we have a very good set-up in this regard.”
The next workshop will be held in April and will be conducted by FIRA referee Steve Busuttil.
One may obtain more details by phoning 9920-7677.