A TRIBUTE TO CUDRRS by Michael Dimambro (Honorary Member) 1. INTRODUCTION Cambridge University and District Rugby Referees Society will celebrate its seventy - fifth birthday in season 2020 - 21. CUDRRS was formed to enable rugby to be played by the clubs within two Constituent Bodies of the Rugby Football Union, namely Cambridge University Rugby Football Union and Eastern Counties Rugby Union, and schools within the Cambridgeshire Schools Rugby Union. Without referees, there are no games. The Society's history includes a period when its influence extended beyond the county of Cambridgeshire to Rugby around the world. Between 1996 and 2008, it provided the refereeing input to the RFU Cambridge University Laws Laboratory. This was set up to carry out research into the effects of specific variations to the Laws of the Game. It operated with the approval and involvement of World Rugby and the RFU which also provided some financial support There is no written record that documents how and why CUDRRS began or what contribution it has made since then to Rugby both near and far. This tribute has been written to mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Society. It identifies key events in its life and members who played a significant part in its development and some members who featured prominently in life beyond Rugby. My knowledge of the Society dates back to 1964 when I played for Cambridge RUFC and coached Cambridgeshire and the Eastern Counties Colts teams between 1969 - 1975. I then joined the Society with the intention of refereeing for five years. Most people volunteer to referee because they want to put something back into the Game. That was my reason. But now, 40 years later, I am the Society's longest continuous serving member. I have been its President, Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Appointments Secretary, Training Officer as well as an assessor and magazine editor and society representative to Cambridgeshire RFU, Cambridge University RFU and the Central Federation of Rugby Referees. In compiling this tribute, I have relied upon my memory, a bit shaky these days, of what I have gathered from others about CUDRRS' past and what I have experienced personally as a member. That covers about three quarters of CUDRRS' existence. I hope this history, based upon my memories, will prove of interest to past, present and future members and lovers of Rugby and referees. Should anyone wish to correct, expand on or add to any of information I have given, please contact me by e-mail to [email protected] - 1 - 2. DATE OF BIRTH To most people, their date of birth is of great importance. It determines when they can legally drive a car, buy and drink alcohol, vote or qualify for a senior citizen bus pass. It is also important as it certifies the correct dates for anniversaries to be celebrated. How old is CUDRRS, the Cambridge University and District Rugby Referees Society? This was not a question members often asked themselves over the years. However, it was asked in 1998 when the federalisation of referee societies in England was under consideration. That's when research began. Jimmy Crowe, an Essex man and an acknowledged authority on the history of Eastern Counties Rugby and the Laws of the Game, was consulted. He found evidence in his collection of handbooks that CUDRRS was operative in 1950 but he could find no earlier record. The Society decided to regard 1950 as the year it was formed. It celebrated its Golden Anniversary in 2000 with a dinner at the University Athletics Ground. Ed Morrison, the 1995 World Rugby Cup Final referee, was the guest speaker. The 60th anniversary dinner was held in St John's College in 2010. In 2014, doubt was thrown on the accuracy of the 1950 date when the London Referees Society was making preparations to celebrate its 125th anniversary. Jack Lewars, a member of both CUDRRS and the London Society, was compiling and editing a commemorative brochure for the event. Jack joined CUDRRS in 2011 when he became a referee whilst studying at Trinity College. He contacted the Society to say he had recently interviewed a former referee named Ian Mackintosh who told him that he had formed CUDRRS in the 1940s. At that time, Ian was studying at St. John's and refereeing college matches. He became University Honorary Secretary and in 1944 began to organise referees to replace those they previously had who were abroad fighting in the Second World War. According to Ian, the secretary's job was a labour of love, involving the hand delivery of printed fixture cards around the colleges. It soon became a service that was very much relied upon. In 1946, Ian joined forces with Len Elliott, Honorary Secretary of the Cambridge (Town) Society, to create the Cambridge University & District Referees Society. The two elements of the Society had been operating separately and referees for both of them were in short supply. Until then, the colleges had to provide their own referees. They were often people who were members of rugby clubs. As individuals, they tended to referee the Laws in accordance with their own levels of awareness about them. Presumably, the Town referees society appointed to Cambridge RUFC which was founded in 1923 and Shelford RUFC in 1933 but they may have got their referees for their 1st XV games from the London Society as the University did. - 2 - Dr Tony Craigen, a GP in a Trumpington Street surgery, was fixture secretary for both Town and Gown in the 1960's. Jack’s information was investigated. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the Cambridge University RFU archives about the birth of CUDRRS. Honorary member of CUDRRS, David Ford, was refereeing at the University as a student in the late 1950’s. He was also a member of the London Society and knew Ian. David had refereed in London before returning as an assessor to CUDDRS and ECRURS and later becoming an RFU Advisor Development Officer. He could not recall the exact date of the merger but remarked that back then the Society had more University referees in it than district referees. According to him, in 1961 CUDRRS numbered some 100 members of which 80 were undergraduates. Two student members from those early days of CUDRRS went on to have notable careers as referees. The first was Peter Brook who was involved in the game for most of his life. He was an international referee between 1963 - 66, taking charge of seven matches. Peter was also a member of the International Board and Five Nations committee from 1993 - 9 and President of the RFU from 1997- 98. He died in 2001, aged 69. The other was Chris Tyler who during his first year at Trinity College in 1955 volunteered to referee because there was a shortage of officials for the inter-college rugby matches. He soon found that he was being appointed to referee games of a higher standard than those in which he had been playing. In 1957, he was appointed to the RFU County panel at the age of 22, a record that has never been broken. In the autumn of 1971, the RFU organised a short tour to the Far East which included two international matches against Japan, where rugby union was still a fledgling sport. Chris was invited to accompany the England team as referee. The Sony Corporation had recently developed technology for referees to commentate live during a match. He became the first referee to commentate and explain his decisions live on television when Japan played England. He became a Major General in the Army, was onetime Chairman of the Army and Combined Services Referees Society and Governor of the Tower of London. He died in 2017, aged 82. Further evidence to support Ian's information came out of the blue from a Peter Ogden. He had been a member of CUDRRS in 1964 when he was at Pembroke College. Peter matriculated that year and started refereeing in Cambridge before joining North Midlands. He sent a copy of the menu of the Society’s annual dinner he had attended at the University Arms Hotel in 1966. The Hon Sec that season was Alan Walker (Wolfson), a vet student. The menu clearly stated that “The Society was formed in 1946 for the purpose of providing referees to Colleges within the University of Cambridge and to Clubs and Schools in Cambridgeshire”. It also identified that Ian had been the Honorary Secretary of the University Society in 1946 and David Ford was Secretary in 1960. - 3 - The additional evidence was considered by the CUDRRS Management Group in 2018. It accepted that the University and District referees had come together four years earlier than was previously thought. The constitution was accordingly amended. 1946 was in fact a significant year for Cambridgeshire rugby as it saw the formation of the Ely and Old Cantabrigian clubs. Many of their ex-players have become CUDRRS referees. It was a significant year for me too as that's when I started to play rugby at my grammar school in Bristol and began my lifetime's involvement with the game. Wisbech RFC was formed in 1947 and the need for more referees was increasing. 3. THE EARLY YEARS The newly formed CUDRRS became part of the Eastern Counties Rugby Union Referees Society comprised of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire officials in 1952. ECRURS took on responsibility for making appointments to the higher levels of matches in the four counties, grading and exchanges. Mike Stott, chairman of appointments and grading for many years at ECRURS, organised exchanges with societies all over the country.