Referee Hugh Watkins comes full circle in Hong Kong
Welshman, who aims to improve officiating, can draw on direct experience
Former Rugby World Cup referee Hugh Watkins has been hired to help boost the standard of refereeing in Hong Kong, exactly a year after a comment he made on Twitter about last year's Hong Kong Sevens final brought his career to an end.
Watkins was banned for 12 weeks by the Welsh Rugby Union for criticising South African referee Marius van der Westhuizen's decision not to award a red card to Fijian Ilai Tinai for a tip-tackle on Wales' Lee Williams in last year's final.
"Sorry, that's a shocker. Had to be red no other option. We need referees to be consistent in this", Watkins tweeted after the incident. Tinai received a yellow card.
The standard of officiating is something I need to assess when I take up my role. Ultimately, my aim is to get someone onto the IRB panel
Watkins said he was "very disappointed with how it had been handled" and pre-empted the Welsh union's decision by resigning, ending 20 years of officiating.
Watkins, 50, was yesterday appointed national referee development manager by the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union after consultation with the Hong Kong Society for Rugby Football Union Referees.
A refereeing controversy had erupted in December when referees manager Bernie Fienberg was dismissed, and referees staged an unprecedented strike, forcing all lower division games to be cancelled.
Watkins took to Twitter again yesterday to say he was "really looking forward to the role".