Referee profiles N - V

Matt Oakley (Singapore)

Full name: Matthew Edward Oakley, MVO, MBE
Born: 19 July 1965
Single
Occupation: Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service
Playing career: Northampton Old Scouts Colts (England): 1983-84, H M Diplomatic Service (England): 1984-85, Spartans RFC (Athens, Greece): 1985-88, Jeddah RFC (Saudi Arabia): 1988-90 (Captain), Riyadh RFC (Saudi Arabia): 1990-92, Hampstead RFC (England): 1992-96 (incl. 2nd XV captain and Chairman)
Started refereeing: 1996 with Western Province Referees' Society in South Africa
Memberhip: Singapore Referees.
First test: Sri Lanka vs China (Rugby World Cup Qualifier), 2002
Why he started: When I moved to South Africa in 1996 (age 31) I felt that I had reached the level of my playing potential (junior club rugby), but that I had the ability and commitment to make it to international level as a referee, if I started refereeing then. Being able to join an excellent society such as WP, with the opportunities that would provide, made this an easy decision.
Highlights: 1. Refereeing my country (England) in the opening game of the Singapore round of the IRB 7s in April 2002, followed by South Africa (my adopted second home) vs Fiji later in the competition;
2. Running onto the pitch as an official at the 2001 Dubai 7s and then the 2002 Hong Kong 7s. An ambition realised since I first went as a fan in 1990.
3. Finally, of course, my first full IRB test match in Colombo, Sri Lanka in April 2002.

Peter Öberg (Sweden)
 
Full name: Peter Sven Karl Öberg
Birth: 12 November 1956 in Stockholm
Family: Father of three children, two girls 14 and 12 years old and one boy 9 years old.
Occupation: Facilities Manager
Playing career: 1973-1985
Started refereeing: 1985
Referees' Society: Stockholm Rugby Referees' Society
Why you started refereeing: Half way through my last game as a player I walked up to the referee and gave him my boots and walked off the pitch. I promised myself that I would never play again as long as we had such bad referees in Sweden. For two weeks after the match I walked round like a bear with a sore head until my girlfriend said that I should go on a referees' course. So I did, and since then I have remained involved with rugby as a referee.
First Test: His first Test will be on 26 April when Latvia play Moldavia in Riga.
Highlights: When I refereed a team of international rugby stars from the British Isles, France and other countries against Stockholm Exiles RUFC during the club's silver jubilee celebrations.

Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

Full name: Patric Denis O'Brien
Born: Invercargill, 19 July 1959
Schools:   Sacred Heart Primary School and Marist Brothers Secondary School in Invercargill.
Occupation: Joined the police force in 1978, became a detective in 1988 and left to become a sports administrator and then a professional referee in 1994.
Family:   Married to Carolyn They live in Invercargill with their two school-going children, Danielle and Hamish. The other two children are away (Kyle, who lives in Sydney, and Matthew, who is at Otago University a scarfie)
Playing career: Southland Primary Schools, Southland U/18, Southland B, Southland 7s. He commenced senior club football as fullback at age 17 and played the next seven seasons on wing.
Started refereeing: 1984 with the Southland Referees Association
First Test: Fiji vs Wales in 1994

Mircea Paraschivescu (Romania)

Full name: Mircea Paraschivescu
Birth: 4 May 1953 in Bucharest
Family: married
Occupation: construction engineering
Playing career: Rapid Bucuresti, Poli Iasi, Sportul Studentesc (1972-1986), junior European champions in  1972
Started refereeing: 1985
Referees' Society: Romania
Why you started refereeing: I love rugby
First Test: 1992, France vs Italy in Tarbes

Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Full name: David Iain Ramage
Born: 15th October 1956
Family: Married; a son and a daughter
Playing career: Berwick RFC in the Borders District
Started refereeing: 1983
Member of Scottish Borders Referee Society
First test: Wales vs Australia, 1996

Jean-Luc Rebollal (France)

Fullname: Jean-Luc Rebollal
Born: 5 October 1967 at La Tour du Crieu, Ariége
Family: Married; two daughters
Occupation: textile employee
Started refereeing: 1993
Society: Midi Pyrénées
Like many referees, he started after his rugby playing was stopped by injury.

Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Full name: Alain Colm Pierre Rolland
Born: Dublin, 22 August 1966
Occupation: mortgage broker
Family: married to Liz with two children - Mark and Clodagh
Playing career: Blackrock College, Leinster and 3 caps as a scrumhalf for Ireland 1990-95
Started refereeing: 1996
Society: Leinster Branch of Referees
First Test: 2001, Wales vs Romania

Jeremy Schauder (Israel)

Full name: Jeremy Schauder
Born: Uitenhage, Eastern Cape, South Africa on 21 May 1961
Family: He and wife Hanna have two children - Gali (8) and Noam (4)
Occupation: Supervisor at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv
Played: Wing/centre: Muir College, South West Africa Forces, Villagers (Cape Town), Israel (1989-93)
Started refereeing: 1993
Society: Israel Rugby Referees' Union
First Test: Belgium vs Tunisia

Tony Spreadbury (England)

Full name: Anthony John Spreadbury
Born: Bath, 29 March 1962
Educated: Beechencliff School
Occupation: professional referee, formerly a paramedic for 17 years
Family: married to Philippa with two sons - Christopher and Robert
Society: Somerset Referees' Society

Tomáa Tuma (Czech Republic)

Full name: Tomáa Tuma
Born: Prague, 11 December 1977
Occupation: Customer services and supply representative for Johnson & Johnson
Playing career: Czech Republic Under-19
Started refereeing: 1992
Society: Sbor Rozhodcích Rugby CSRU
First championship match: 1995
First Test: 2000, Bulgaria vs Yugoslavia

Andy Turner (South Africa)

Full name: Daniël Andrew Turner
Born: Pretoria, Christmas Day 1963
Education: Hottentots Holland, Paarl Boys' High
Occupation: schoolmaster, then administration manager for Panorama Medi-Clinic in Cape Town.
Family: married to Ria with two children - Bianca and Hildegard
Started refereeing: 1989
Society: Western Province Referees' Society
First Test: 2000, Namibia vs Zimbabwe
IRB Status: retired from international rugbyFelix Villegas (Spain)

Full name: Felix Villegas Casado
Born: Valladolid on 23 April 1969.
Occupation: English teacher
Playing career: loosehead for El Salvador in Valladolid.
Started refereeing: 1992
Society: Castilla & Leon Referees' Society.
First league: División de Honor, 1998
First Test: 2002, Switzerland vs Croatia