Jon Newcombe talks to high-level ex-ref David Rose
On Boxing Day, Sam Allison became the first black referee to take charge of a Premier League football match in 15 years and rugby is in danger of facing an even longer wait.
Incredibly, it is over a decade since the last referee from an ethnically diverse background took charge of a first-class rugby game in England, an Anglo-Welsh Cup tie at Welford Road in 2013, and potential candidates to take up the mantle from David Rose appear to be thin on the ground.
“As we enter the 29th year of professional rugby, I am still the only black or mixed ...