By Stu Piddington

Lindsay Paul's 100th senior club match as a rugby referee has twin milestones on Saturday.

Paul, who made his senior refereeing debut 17 seasons ago, has been handed the whistle for the match marking the centennial of Old Boys, a club he played for mostly at first five or fullback.

Paul never thought about how long he might last as a rugby referee so chalking up his 100th senior game is a bit of a surprise.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF

Referee Lindsay Paul awards a try to Celtic against Old Boys during a 2016 South Canterbury senior rugby match.

He started refereeing as a way of giving back to a game he loved.

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"I played a bit and when that came to an end I thought I'd like to stay involved"

He only realised about three years ago that he might make the exclusive referees' 100 club after someone mentioned it to him.

"I never thought I'd do a 100 senior games to be honest."

He will become only the 19th whistleblower in 122-year-old history of the South Canterbury Rugby Referees Association to complete the feat.

There are been many refereeing highlights on and off the field.

"Probably meeting all the different people from all sorts of backgrounds along the way is a big one.

"Your first senior game is always up there, it was Old Boys versus Mackenzie at Alpine Energy Stadium in 2002."

Paul also rates refereeing the Scott Cup final and the referee exchange to Canberra highly in his career.

Saturday's game will also be special as his son, Chris, will be one of the assistants running touch for him.

Paul said he couldn't claim credit for getting his son into refereeing.

"It was probably his mother Rhoda who talked him round. I did mention it occasionally but you don't want to push your son into what you are doing."

Paul said he was also proud of how far his son had gone in refereeing already. (Chris Paul has officiated at the Jock Hobbs under 19 national tournament and appears to have a bright future).

As to any players who offered him advice while refereeing, Paul said there a few but he wasn't naming names.

"They are characters in their own way."

The soon to be centurion encouraged anyone interested in refereeing to pick up the whistle and have a go.

"It is a great thing to do, it's a fun way to stay involved in the game and you get great support from the other referees."

Laurie Walker was the first South Canterbury referee to get to 100 games after starting in 1948.

The other that followed since were George Depree, John Harmon, Tim Gresson, Colin Hawke, Neil Wilkinson, Kevin Scannell, Robert Vincent, Trevor Sapwell, Alan Trezise, Gavin Charteris, Peter Gallagher, Mark Goodhew, Lachie McLeod, Paul Henshaw, Charlie Hough, Grant Day and Mike O'Brien in 2015.

* The Old Boys v Temuka senior match is at School Park on Saturday with a 1.30pm kickoff.

Article added: Thursday 30 May 2019