Notice of AGM – 7th July 2026

Manchester & District Rugby Union Referees Society Ltd - Notice of AGM  The Society's Annual General Meeting this year will take place on Tuesday 7th July, 7pm for a 7:30pm start. It will, as usual, be held at Wigan RUFC. The agenda and papers for the meeting will be made available at lest two weeks beforehand. ... More

RFU features Madrefs charity match vs Looseheadz

The highly successful and enjoyable Loosehadz vs Madrefs charity match held just after Christmas is featured in an article on the RFU website. More than £2,000 was raised for the Looseheadz mental health charity. Congratulations are due to all those who organised the event and participated on the day. This ... More

Peter Hughes BEM – A lifetime of achievement in refereeing and in service to the Game

  Peter had been a player at Oldham RUFC and Kersal RUFC but decided to take up the less dangerous option of refereeing when he acquired his dental practice.  He was elected formally, as was the custom at that time, to membership of the Society on 3rd September 1963.  There could have been little doubt as to his ... More

New initiative: MadRefs Club Praise

Jonny Cartwright, with help and creativity from Morgan Sparke, is starting a new feature on the socials called “MadRefs Club Praise”. As Jonny explained, “Each Monday (hopefully) a different club /team will feature in an Instagram post similar to this one. The intention is to highlight the positives and hope ... More

Community Game Update – November 2025

The latest edition of the RFU Community Game Update is published here. Contents: Important updates Club Engagement - Have Your Say! Age Grade Updates - Prize Draws & Love Rugby! How did RWC 2025 help your club? Action if of interest Regulation 15 Update - Consultation England Rugby Advanced Coaching Workshop ... More

BUCS Rugby Union Regulations – updated

An update to the BUCS (Universities and Colleges) Rugby Union Regulations was issued on 6th October. A copy of the regulations can be downloaded from the BUCS website. A key point is that the regulations differ depending on the competition tier for both men’s and women’s teams. More

RFU Community Cups Regulations

Here is the link to the RFU Community Cups Regulations. The Regulations cover how the result of a match is determined in the event of the scores being level at full-time. More

England Rugby Match Official Handbook 2025/26

The RFU's England Rugby Match Official Handbook 2025/26 is now available. Michael Patz, RFU Match Official Development Manager, said   "... (the handbook is) a living document that will be updated throughout the season as new information becomes available or additional needs arise." He also highlighted, by way of a ... More

Andy Dawson – An Obituary

Andy joined the Society in 1999 and was a very well-liked and dedicated member. I want to thank Chris Meadows, a fellow member and long-time friend of Andy, for preparing the following obituary. Paul Houston Chairman Manchester & District Rugby Union Referees' Society         Andy ... More

New PO paper published – July 2025 Law changes

At the April meeting, Andy McMillan introduced the latest Preferred Options (PO) paper: PO#30 – Implementing law changes EFFECTIVE FROM 1st JULY 2025 Please note that these changes do not apply to the remaining matches for this season (2024/25). The full series of POs is listed here.     More