Tara Jones to referee Women's Rugby League World Cup semi-final
Tara Jones, the former England player, will referee the Women's Rugby League World Cup semi-final between New Zealand and Samoa on Saturday 7 November. The Rugby Football League announced the appointment on Tuesday. The match is at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, New South Wales.
The referee is the official in charge of the game. They make the calls on fouls, decide when play stops and keep the contest within the laws. Two touch judges help from the sidelines, and the current pair for this match are Tori Wilkie and Karra-Lee Nolan.
Jones, who is 30, is a former St Helens hooker. In rugby league the hooker is the player who feeds the ball into the scrum, the tight knot of forwards that restarts play. She has also been made an MBE, a British honour, for her services to the sport.
Her playing record is long. She won a Women's Super League title, two League Leaders' Shields and four Challenge Cups with St Helens. She also played for England in the 2022 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, the same stage she now returns to in a different role.
As a referee, she has broken new ground. She was the first woman to take charge of a men's Super League fixture. In 2023 she became the first woman to score a try in a Challenge Cup final at Wembley. She joined the RFL's match officials department full-time two years ago.
This is her first major international tournament. She has already refereed three matches at the World Cup. According to the BBC, those included England's 70-6 win over Wales on 17 October and two France matches, against New Zealand and Fiji. She is one of three UK-based officials at the tournament, alongside Liam Moore and Chris Kendall.
Andy Smith, the RFL's general manager of match officials, said Jones is building a reputation as one of the world's top officials. The appointment reflects that view, and it puts her in charge of a match with a place in the final on the line.
For a referee, a semi-final means a crowd focused on every decision and a game where a single call can change the momentum. Jones will need to keep control of both sides as the contest tightens, and the result will decide who meets in the final.
