Samuel Taylor is looking forward to being part of the Touch World Cup refereeing team.Photo/David Haxton
SAmuel Taylor's touch rugby officiating skills will be put to the ultimate test in the coming months.
The 24-year-old from Paraparaumu is part of the New Zealand team helping to referee the Touch World Cup.
The tournament will be held in Nottingham, England in July, and will feature teams from all over the world competing in various grades.
Approximately 220 teams and 200 referees from around the world will participate.
Taylor, an accomplished referee, was delighted to be a part of the effort.
“I was speechless when I was selected, but I was really excited.”
A lot of effort has been made to ensure that soon you will be able to control the best teams on the world stage.
For more than a decade, he has spent his time coaching new umpires and helping people of all ages and backgrounds play with touch.
Taylor developed a passion for the sport at an early age when he began playing for Paraparaumu Beach School in weekly primary school competitions held at Mazengarb Reserve in the summer.
“I enjoyed the games and meeting people. At that age, it was all about having fun.”
The winter months were also ideal for rugby union pre-season training.
By the time he entered Kapiti College, he had offered himself as a coach at his old elementary school, where he coached for a short time until schoolwork became too much.
But one day, he went to the registration desk at the start of an elementary school competition at his prep school and asked to be a judge.
“That was the beginning.”
His confidence soared, especially under the welcoming and family atmosphere of the sport, and soon he was helping out with refereeing tournaments in the far-flung Horowhenua district.
“I fell in love with the game even more. I've never looked back.”
He has been featured in national tournaments such as Secondary Schools, Youth, Open and Masters as well as international competitions such as Youth Trans-Tasman and Youth Asia-Pacific Cup.
Locally, I referee adult games at the reserve on Friday nights in the summer.
Becoming a touch rugby referee requires physical strength and a keen eye for things like offside, errant ball rolls and forward passes.
“There are three referees on the field, so it makes it a little bit easier.
“There will be two support referees and one control referee, and they will take turns during the match.''
Taylor is regarded as one of the top touch rugby umpires in the country and was ranked ninth after the recent junior nationals.
He has achieved Level 4 (Black Badge), the highest qualification a touch rugby referee can obtain.
Mr Taylor referees premier grade rugby union matches in the Horowhenua Kapiti competition and has been busy raising about $6,000 to cover costs such as flights and officiating fees.
“It will be fully self-financed.”
It was expected that referees would be busy with three to four games per day over the six days of the World Cup.
And while he intends to give his best in every match, he has his own special goals in mind.
“I hope to reach the finals of the World Cup and decide the world ranking.”
A Givealittle page has been set up to raise money to get him to the World Cup.