Volunteer Recognition Phil Benger

Mon, Jul 29, 2024, 10:00 PM
RJ
by Rose Jackson

I began playing in 1965 with the Klemzig Primary School team which was affiliated with North Adelaide Rugby Club. I stayed at Norths for the next 25 years as a player through all grades, as a committee member, President and a coach. I realized that it was time to move on from playing, and having had a season Refereeing after a hip injury, then going back to playing for a couple of seasons, I chose refereeing.

This was around 1990, as far as I can figure as I have never been one for keeping records. This will prove to be a theme during my history.

I have an inbuilt love of the game, the people, the community and the opportunities that it provides. I was still quite fit and thought I had a good knowledge of the game. Well, as any new referee and experienced referee will tell you, I knew nothing.

I had great coaching and guidance from some of the top referees in our association. Mick Rixon, Gary Pope, Mike Beresford and my great friend Rod Essery. Andy Collins was a great sounding board as were some of the team Coaches. Barry Cooper from Brighton was always encouraging and his knowledge of the game and how it should be refereed was priceless.

What I did find though is that you have the best view of the game, you are in the privileged position of helping players enjoy their games in a safe and fair way. I also found that listening to spectators and club members, even they didn't realize it, was also of value.

OPPORTUNITIES Refereeing finals. Making it to refereeing in Premier grade. ARing at the International Provincial 7s at Hindmarsh Stadium. ARing and sideline managing at the IRB 7s at Adelaide Oval. Exchange refereeing at Powerhouse Rugby Club in Melbourne.

As a Coach Many conferences on Referee Coaching. Representing our association as Vice President at National Conference. Coaching at the National Womens Championships. National 7s. Exchange Coaching to Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney was alongside one of my heroes in Peter Marshall at the Shute Shield. Coaching at the ARS.

Within Our Association Being on the Committee. Being Vice President alongside Gary Howat and Johann Pienaar. Many years on the Appointments Board. First with Gary Pope, then Mike Beresford and Alistair Walton and Gary Howat. Becoming a Level 2 Coach. Being awarded Life Membership of our association.

I have been asked about the Best and the Worst of my times in Rugby. The great times far outweigh the bad. But, the worst time I have experienced has to be the situation that happened to Quentin. The spectator abuse that occurred along with social media abuse was so horrific that Quentin and his family suffered in ways that should never have occurred and should never happen again. At the time I was Vice-President of our society and my recommendation was to withdraw our services from that club. In those times there was a reluctance by Unions all the way to Rugby Australia to take these actions and as a result nothing of substance happened and we lost a great referee and friend to our association. This is my greatest regret.

Some of my best experiences though are born out of some of the most competitive games I have experienced. One that stands out was a Semi Final in 3rd grade where the game was so competitive that as we were approaching full time the scores were tied. My watch started to beep full time as one team came into possession of the ball in open play. From there I was the closest spectator to a titanic battle of two teams hell bent on winning the game. The play moved through something like 25 to 30 phases within 5 to 10 metres of the southern try line at Bailey Reserve. The defence was fierce, the attack was unrelenting, all players complying with my instructions. It finally ended with a try. I felt I had witnessed something great and then I saw something greater when all of the players both on the field and off came together and embraced in true Rugby spirit. I have never been prouder to be involved in a game.

As a Referee Coach. Just to be in a position of privilege of being able to be a part of a referee developing into the best referee and person they can be is my goal. I couldn't tell how many times I have written reports for referees at all levels. Be the ones that are new to refereeing, through to National panel referees. Every one of them has something to teach me as well as I might be able to help them. I have learnt so much from being involved with so many different personalities and abilities. All of them will remember one of my favourite instructions such as, "I want to hear you from the Car Park" or another favourite "Everything comes from positioning and flow".

So, if I was ever to retire from Referee Coaching and rugby in general, I would like to think that I have had some positive influences on peoples' development and in turn, their enjoyment of the game we all love - because there have been so many others that have done that for me and I can hopefully pay them back.

But I'm not retiring anytime soon.

RugbySA Phil Benger Refereeing

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