Canterbury's first Deaf rugby ref taking on senior grades

Christchurch's Rodney Roberts is rugby mad.

"I was four years old when I started rugby so it's in the blood you might say," he said.

Passionate about being involved, he coaches his daughter's Linwood Year Four Junior Bulls side.

"When he says stuff when we're on the field I will look at him and see what he's saying and then I'll say it to the team because they don't know sign language," daughter Olivia said.

That's because her dad — Roberts — is Deaf.

"I just absolutely love it [rugby], and I love helping the juniors and encouraging them to play," he said.

But in the past 18 months, in addition to coaching he's also become a referee — believed to be the first Deaf ref in Canterbury.

"There's a position on the team for everyone," Canterbury Rugby's chief executive Tony Smail said.

"We provide an interpreter for him to attend referee sessions and this year we've got him out on the paddock," he said.

Roberts found his niche reffing the Senior Men's "Classics" grade — each match begins with him addressing both sides, and getting them used to basic signs/gestures he'll use throughout the game.

"It's a real challenge on the field sometimes with all the chatter that I just can't hear," he said. "And watching — you've got to be really observant and have your eyes everywhere."

But the feedback is so far, so good.

"He can't see everything so sometimes you're trying to tell him 'mate you missed that, you missed it' — but he's very clear in what he does," one Christchurch Football Club player said.

"This is going to be a great learning curve all the boys can take on — just accepting every feature of the game however it comes," another said.

Roberts said he won't be putting away the whistle anytime soon.

"I'm not going to give up, I'm not going to walk off — I'm determined, so I'm going to carry on and get on with it cause I enjoy it."

By Jordan Oppert, 1News Reporter