Talented young referee LCpl Stephen Walley (RE) believes taking up the whistle has helped his work in the Army day job and helped him all-round as a person – as he urges others to get involved.
At a time when the number of match officials throughout the game – and in the services – is dropping, Stephen has bucked the trend by rapidly rising to refereeing Level Eight games for the Dorset & Wilts Society before taking charge of his first Step Seven game just before Christmas.
And the 24-year-old provided a shining light of the benefits refereeing can bring when stating: “I love the game and the fact it’s for all shapes and sizes, but especially the sportsmanship, it’s what separates it from almost every other sport in the world.
“The camaraderie, as soon as you step off the field the game’s done, and you go from on the pitch where you’re going hard at each other for 80 minutes to having a laugh and a pint together.
“It matches who I am as a person and to be affiliated with a sport like that is second to none.
“It’s also a bit of a detox – we all have bad days or bad weeks at the office, and it gives me something to look forward to at the weekend.”
Looking further at how refereeing has helped in his Army duties, and vice-versa, he continued: “If I’m struggling to get my head round something at work, I’ll try and relate it to a situation in the rugby world – whether it be dealing with red cards or other things – and when you do that, you can think outside the box in different ways. It can spark an idea.
“(From the Army) You are a leader, so if you set your standards early in the game with what you expect then you hope the skippers and players will follow. It’s about having the professional approach from the moment you get to the car park, how you dress, to building the relationship.
“There’s the saying of ‘You look the part; you’ll be the part’ and I think that’s something which has paid dividends on the pitch.”
Image provided by Stephen Walley
The Forces are in Stephen’s blood, and it is no surprise he made his way into the Army as he revealed: “I’m a Pad Brat. Both my parents were serving and pretty much from when I was little, I always said I wanted to join up – what I’ve wanted to do in the Army has changed about 1,000 times with reality checks though!
“We’re a military family – my great grandad, both my granddads served, my cousin’s in, uncle, so it goes down the line, and when I was about to sign on my parents sat me down because they felt like I felt pressured into having to join.
“But I knew from the start I wanted it.”
Having made the decision to join, LCpl Walley admitted he was left with a dilemma about how to stay involved with a sport he’d enjoyed playing at Duke of York’s School in Dover, where in his words he ‘floated around the pack’.
He explained: “The question was, ‘how much do I want to put my body at risk playing the game?’
“I’m not big enough to be a forward, I’m not skillful or quick enough to be a back, and we all know the size of some of the guys in the Armed Forces – especially the Fijians – so while I knew I wanted to stay in the game, playing would have put my career at risk.
“So then you think, ‘how can I stay in the game at a good level’ and I thought by refereeing – you get a first-class seat to the action and I’m so pleased to have stayed connected to the sport.
“It’s not song and dances all the time, but that comes with it and as with anything, there’s responsibilities.”
While things do not always run smoothly, Stephen believes having experience as a player has also aided his rise as he commented: “Regardless of the level, I think playing – whether it’s in the front row or in general – helps with the understanding of the game and as a referee or coach, having that empathy means you can relate to what’s going on in the middle.
“The type of guy I am, if I can relate to a person, either reffing or not, I’ll always try to because it means you can work better with them – what they’re trying to express to me I’ll try and build a connection.
“In the pre-match brief, I’ll always say to the players ‘we’re the man or woman with the whistle, and we’ll make our calls, but it’s not a one-man team, it’s a 31-man team.’
“It starts with me, but filters down to the skippers, then their key players, the pack and the whole team – I can’t do my job properly and efficiently if they’re not doing there’s in trying to play rugby.
“But if they’re doing their best to create a good flowing game, I’ll do it as well and everyone wins.
“The less I have to blow the whistle, the more rugby can be played, and the coaches and fans are happy because they’re watching action rather than 20 minutes of in-ball (play).
“I see it as just like with the chain of command in the military, there’s one person at the top, but it filters down to different people.”
Image provided by Stephen Walley
Currently posted to 26 RE in Perham Down, LCpl Walley is grateful to his superiors in helping him progress his refereeing career, while he also touched upon some mentors and some he aspires to.
Stephen continued: “The balance (Army/officiating) is pretty good and it’s down to having good management which back it. Those above have seen the passion I have for refereeing – I want to go all the way – and while we all understand the Army job always comes first, you serve your King before anything else, it’s working well.
“But the support I’ve had from both the Army and Dorset & Wilts Societies has been brilliant.
“When I was on my Class One in Kent last year there was a Level Five referee, Billy, who helps with the young referees, and another guy, Lewis, whose pushing Level Six, and they were just both smooth operators.
“The games I watched them do were heated, hard-fought, top-of-the-table clashes, but they were so cool – it was like the pressure just didn’t seem to bother them!
“Another inspiration is Michael Todd, who is one of the highest level refs in ARURS; he’s on the Scottish panel. I met him at Inter-Services earlier this year and he’s a very nice guy whose just so cool under pressure.
“Moving up to the top, I look at the likes of Wayne Barnes, Luke Pearce – I can relate to him because he’s firm, sets the standard but also seems willing to have a laugh even when he’s been knocked over by big players!”
Taking command of a range of fixtures both in the Army and Civilian rugby, Stephen commented on the differences between the two by stating: “It depends on which players are available for the teams! Whether it’s Army or civilian, you could ref a team one time and they could have all their main stars, then later they’re missing a whole load because of a wedding or an exercise, but I just look at it as ‘there’s a game of rugby on’.
“And if I do my best to make that as good as possible, that’s my main aim – for those 30 players to have the best game they can. I enjoy it either way.”
With his passion for the role evident throughout, LCpl Walley saved his final words to encourage others to get involved as he ended: “I’d sing the praises of taking up the whistle like it’s the be-all and end-all – I’d say it’s like winning the lottery, that’s how much I rate it.
“I never thought I’d be able to do refereeing until I did the course, but it’s there for a reason and the societies are good.
“They send people out to help you, they won’t just throw you in the deep end, and there aren’t assessors hiding in a bush to catch you out.
“And even when you have tougher days – you’re never going to be 100 per cent in anything – you’ll learn from those and the good far outweighs the bad. The opportunities you get and the people you meet are second to none.”
*Anyone wishing to become a match official can attend a two-day course run by the ARU at Aldershot on January 29-30.
For more information, click here
Words © Richard Ashton
Header and featured image provided by Stephen Walley
