Sarah Corrigan

ACT referee Sarah Corrigan returned from France this week after accepting the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) Women’s Personality of the Year at their gala function at Paris’ Allée de Longchamp on Sunday. Corrigan became the first female to referee at an IRB fifteens tournament outside the Women’s Rugby World Cup, when she took charge of the IRB Under 19 World Championship match between Zimbabwe and Canada in April. Brumby Jack caught up with Corrigan on her return to Canberra.

Brumby Jack: Congratulations on winning the IRB Women’s Personality of the Year. What does winning this award mean to you?
Sarah Corrigan: It’s a real honour. I’m very fortunate that I do something I really enjoy and I’ve had a great season and to get an award like this is a great bonus. It’s recognition for something that I’ve done but it doesn’t really feel like I’ve done anything too special in the first place. But I’m very stoked.

BJ: Did you realise you were nominated for the award?
SC: They invited us to Paris about a month and a half beforehand but nobody told me what I was there for, so I had no idea. I was thinking the whole time ‘you don’t just get a free trip to Paris for no reason’ but nobody had said anything to me about being nominated. I was a bit suspicious but I didn’t know what about.

BJ: What was the event itself like?
SC: The night was awesome. We were rubbing shoulders with the elite of world rugby which was very exciting. There were lots of people there and the venue was beautiful and it was just a very good night.

BJ: How long were you over there for?
SC: They originally wanted to fly us over there just for the weekend but we thought we’d take the opportunity and went across a week and a half early.

BJ: Did you get the opportunity to see any Rugby World Cup matches?
SC: They took us to the final. The game was a bit slow and there was a lot of criticism about teams taking the points and going for penalty goals rather than tries. But while it may not have been the most exciting game I’ve ever watched, the atmosphere was fantastic.

BJ: You’ve been refereeing for 11 years, how did you get involved?
SC: Originally I wanted to play but my parents talked me into refereeing because I think they were a bit worried that I might get mangled.

BJ: Did you have any thoughts that your refereeing would take you this far when you began?
SC: No, none at all. I just started because I enjoyed doing it and I didn’t really have too many aspirations until about 2004 when I was approached with the possibility that they were going to take female referees to the Women’s World Cup. They said if I was interested then I could put in the work and be the one they chose from Australia.

BJ: What are your future goals with regards to your refereeing?
SC: My immediate goal is to make the Australian Referees Academy for next year. The Academy’s based in Sydney but they have referees all around the country. They give you a referee coach, they give you assignments and you have to start hitting fitness targets and the like. You’d probably spend about two or three years in the Referees Academy and once you’ve graduated you go on to things like touch judging Super 14.