Advertisement
Joy Neville: capped 70 times for Ireland before turning her hand to refereeing (file photo). Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Joy Neville made her latest piece of Irish rugby history yesterday

Grand Slam winner becomes the first woman to referee a UBL Division 1A fixture.

CORK CON’S WIN over Clontarf on Saturday afternoon was unremarkable in most respects — but it is a game which will go down in the Irish rugby history books.

Irish Grand Slam winner turned referee Joy Neville marked another milestone at Temple Hill as she became the first woman to take charge of an Ulster Bank League Division 1A game.

Limerick’s Neville, who captained Ireland and made 70 appearances before her retirement in 2013, already broke new ground this season when she was named assistant referee for the European Challenge Cup game between Bath and Bristol last season, making her the first female official in European rugby.

Yesterday’s game largely passed off without incident as Cork Con came from behind to win 24-17 and record their fourth straight win in Division 1A.

The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!

Ireland narrowly lose out to world champions England in first November Test

Author
Niall Kelly
View comments
Close
Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.