Rugby in Finland and the Art of Refereeing

A presentation of rugby in Finland and an exploration into how unique the sport is to referee

Friday, 22 September 2023
6:00 pm

George Mossford was inducted into the Finland Rugby hall of fame in 2021 after being involved in the sport at many levels, including 14 years as national competitions manager and as chairman of the Finnish Rugby Federation from 2017-2019. George grew up refereeing in the UK. He also founded and chaired the Finland Rugby Referees Association for over 8 years and has been a licensed World Rugby educator for the last 12 years.

This presentation will introduce rugby in Finland, touching on the challenges of developing a relatively unknown sport in the country, its rapid development after the men’s national team was labelled the ‘worst rugby team in the world’ as recently as 2011, and how the women’s game routinely punches above its weight on the international stage. Participants will learn a little about what makes rugby such a unique sport to referee and have the chance to make some play calls themselves. No prior rugby knowledge required!