Belonging: Claire Antcliffe and supporting our women referees

We talk to Claire Antcliffe, Match Official Developer, about her experiences of working in the women's game for the last sixteen years; what it means to 'belong' as the only woman on a team; and how the RFU plan to make more woman feel like they belong in the match officiating world.  We asked Claire how she got involved in the Match Official Team.

I have worked in the RFU since 2012 and in the RFUW before that since 2005. But rugby has been my passion ever since I first tried it at Loughborough University many moons ago! I was a Women’s Rugby Development Officer from 2005 until 2018 when the RFU made the decision to ensure that W&G Rugby was mainstream and delivered by everyone, meaning that the role ceased to exist. On the one hand, I was weirdly ecstatic – we’d achieved our goal created nearly 20 years previously. On the other hand, I was out of a job. I knew I wanted to stay with the RFU, so looked at the options available. Having never been a referee or educator, a colleague persuaded me to train up and apply for the Match Official Developer (MOD) role to bring a different perspective to the team. So, I completed my Entry Level Ref Award (ERRA) and my Educator training and was fortunate enough to be appointed. A lot of thanks (or blame?!) need to go to Dave Livesey for the encouragement!

We asked Claire what its like to work in a space that is heavily male-dominated.

Since the RFUW and RFU integrated, I’ve regularly been the only female in the room in work meetings and I enjoy the fact that I can bring another perspective. Having said that, the teams I’ve had the pleasure to work with (Area 5 and now MOD) have always appreciated that I can add value simply as another Rugby Development specialist. In the MOD team, we have a range of various skills which helps us be creative! I have a lot of both female AND male allies both within the MOD team and across the organisation. The biggest challenges I usually face can be being the only female in a sea of male volunteers within referee societies. This can feel a bit intimidating at first. However, once you get over the tumbleweed moment of astonished silence the first time you walk through the door, they eventually just start to see you as another person with different views to theirs. We have recognised that the refereeing landscape is not as diverse as it could be and we are trying to implement some programmes to help shift that in the right direction. Seeing how much the playing landscape has changed in the past 10 years shows just what can be done!

There are some AMAZING female role models out there already doing it so we also need to be better at celebrating them. Sara Cox & Nikki O’Donnell are two of those already flying the flag at the top end with recent recruits such as ex-Quins player – Holly Wood, and young match officials Harriet Crump and Emily Hope regularly extolling the virtues of refereeing.

Claire talks through what measures the Match Officials team are taking to support more women Officials

It’s the Framework that we’re putting in place to provide additional support for our female community that may give a bit more confidence to those that feel ‘there’s no-one out there like me’ to help them on that journey. The Framework includes a Facebook group for our female Match Officials; online Net-working events and then lots of pilot programmes to see what else we need! Currently we’re excited about piloting a programme to help develop confidence and resilience in trying something new and taking that next scary step.

Finally, we asked Claire what belonging at England Rugby feels like for her.

I have been a part of the rugby family for 16 years and seen many changes both in the organisation and to my role. Being part of a team is hugely important to me which is why I was drawn to playing the sport in the first place. The MOD team is really special as we all bring something different and are celebrated for it. I also love being part of a wider team meaning I can connect with different people on a daily basis which has actually been made slightly easier now we’re all fluent(ish!) in Teams. Feeling that you can be creative and come up with slightly weird and wacky solutions to reduce some barriers is also empowering so long may it continue!