Ashleigh Murray, who hails from Glenvista, was named with two other South African match officials on the 2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series panels for the men’s and women’s competitions.
World Rugby has announced that specific tournament allocations will be done at a later stage, but Morné Ferreira and AJ Jacobs will form part of the action during the 2021 men’s series to start in September.
Six tournaments are planned to take place in the final four months of the year in Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Murray will be part of the women’s circuit, which starts in Paris in October, followed by Hong Kong, Dubai and Cape Town.
Jacobs and Ferreira will follow in the footsteps of Craig Joubert, Rasta Rasivhenge, Ben Crouse, Jaco Kotze and Marius van der Westhuizen, while Murray will take over the flag from Aimee Barrett-Theron from recent years.
Rewarded for hard work
SA Rugby referee manager Banks Yantolo praised the trio with their appointments.
“This is good reward for them, delivering consistency in excellence over the last couple of seasons,” said Yantolo.
“It is also a good reminder for our internal structures that we are doing things right and a good motivation for all involved to keep delivering our best efforts.
“To be rated among the best referees on the international stage is a big feat, and this is a just reward for all their hard work and discipline. We want to congratulate them and wish them the best of luck, I am confident they will represent us well.”
A few years ago the Alberton RECORD interviewed Murray on her career as a referee and what the future hold for her.
This will mark Murray’s third season on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens series referee panel, after a successful stint in the circuit 2018/2019 season and 2019/2020.
“I grew interested in rugby while still at school. I attended the live games at Ellis Park with my dad. Although I enjoyed watching rugby I didn’t understand it because I didn’t know the laws.
“My dad jokingly suggested I try refereeing to help learn about the game. I then started the next year and have never looked back,” said Murray, who had at that stage strong connections with the Alberton Rugby Club.
She started refereeing in 2011.
One of the best
Today, Murray has come a long way in her expectations to become one of the best women’s referees in the county, let alone the world.
She has already made her presence felt on the Women’s Rugby World Cup African qualifiers in Johannesburg, as well as her first 2019/20 Sevens series in Dubai which will be followed by the inaugural Women’s Cape Town Sevens.
She also had the opportunity to hold the whistle at the Langford Sevens Series in Canada early in May 2020 before travelling to France for the Paris Sevens at the end of that month.
Murray’s other notable achievements include officiating at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, as well as the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series qualifier in Hong Kong, the Africa Women’s Sevens in Botswana and the World University 7s Championships in Namibia. She has also been on the SA Rugby Women’s referee panel since 2014.
“We would like to congratulate Ashleigh on these appointments and wish her luck for the busy international season ahead,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.
“Her growing list of international appointments is testament to her quality as a referee and all the hard work she has put in to reach this level. I have no doubt she will continue to make huge strides in her career in future.”
Murray said: “Nigel Owens has been my role model for years. When on the field, he demands respect from the players while still being empathetic towards them.
“He is also one of the oldest referees on World Rugby’s panel but is still the best in the world. In 2013 I was also his assistant in the test match between the All Blacks and Springboks.”
