Let the new season begin!

The new rugby season started yesterday for me in Düsseldorf. It is going to be my first full refereeing season in a long time!

In this double round, I was assistant referee for the 2nd Bundesliga game between the first teams of Düsseldorf Dragons and ASV Cologne in the first match, and then I was the referee of the regional league match between their second teams.

Düsseldorf 12 x 23 Cologne

The first match was refereed by Matthew Newman and the other assistant was Annabell Hansmeier. The pitch was quite "heavy" due to continuous rain that had affected the region since Thursday. Luckily the rain gave us a break around noon, with only some sporadic showers throughout the match. It was a tight game, especially in the first half, as the halftime score was 6x5 for Cologne, with Düsseldorf with somewhat more possession, but not able to convert it into points. The second half was more favorable to Cologne, who ended up winning by 23x12. It was a generally well spirited match, with a few discipline problems which were well handled by Matt.

Düsseldorf II 27 x 20 Cologne II

Then it was time for me to take up the whistle.  It was my first match after March and I was really excited about how the teams and myself would handle the new trial laws. It was won by the home club Düsseldorf 27x20, with the lead swinging from onw club to the other throughout the match. The game was quite good in general, at least that was my impression and also the feedback I got after the match from both teams. I know that I have areas of my game management that would benefit from some improvement, I am going to work on those areas over the next weekends. I am happy that the scrums worked well under the wet/muddy conditions and there were no serious injuries. I am also thankful to the captains for their cooperation in keeping discipline levels, with only one undisputed yellow card being issued for a high tackle.

I am looking forward to the next weekends and to working with both teams again in the future!