// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Paul Williams whistle? He had a referee-nee.
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| Born | Paul Williams 11 April 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| School | Francis Douglas Memorial College | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Paul Williams (born 11 April 1985) is a professional rugby union referee from New Zealand who currently officiates matches in the Super Rugby competition and in international test matches.[1]
Williams started refereeing in 2011 while still playing at halfback at club level and was appointed to the New Zealand High Performance referee squad in 2014. He quickly rose up the domestic ranks of refereeing, ultimately becoming a full-time referee on the Super Rugby panel in 2016, the first ever from Taranaki.[2]
Williams refereed the 2016 World Rugby U20 Championship final between England and Ireland.[3]
In June 2017, Williams took charge of his first international test match, between Italy and Scotland in Singapore.[4]
In 2018, Williams refereed eight Super Rugby matches as well as three further Tier 1 tests.
Williams was selected to referee at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
References
[edit]- ↑ "Williams joins professional rugby refereeing ranks". Stuff. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ↑ "Paul Williams". SANZAR. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ↑ Hurndell, Shane (1 July 2016). "Rugby: First-class ref enters elite category". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ↑ "Paul Williams". All Blacks. Archived from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.