Joy Neville could not avoid rugby even if she tried. Her father and all four of her older brothers played rugby, including one professionally. She first picked up a ball in her backyard in Limerick, Ireland, when she was 8 in a scrimmage with her siblings, breaking her nose in the process.<\/p>\n
But it would be nearly a decade before she played her first match competitively. The opportunities for women to play rugby just weren\u2019t there, she said in a recent interview. After that first game, her brother Dave offered his advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018You\u2019re going to play for Ireland very soon, and not only are you going to play for Ireland, you\u2019re going to captain your country,\u2019\u201d Neville recalled. \u201c\u2018But if you\u2019re going to do that, we need to go down to the park and practice your tackle technique.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville would indeed go on to captain the women\u2019s rugby team for Ireland, making multiple World Cup appearances and using her platform to boost women\u2019s participation in the heavily male-dominated sport. This week, she\u2019ll take that mission one step further as the first woman to be named on a men\u2019s Rugby World Cup officiating panel. As one of the tournament\u2019s television match officials, she will watch matches from a screen and be responsible for helping evaluate penalties and tries with the on-field officials.<\/p>\n
She attributes much of her groundbreaking success to her support network, most notably her brothers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up in an environment where they didn\u2019t treat me any different,\u201d Neville said. \u201cThere was no reason why I couldn\u2019t do what they did. They never saw it as a barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neville, 40, reflected on her journey to the pitch and how she uses labels as motivation.<\/p>\n
The following conversation has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n
You played for Ireland\u2019s national team for a decade before transitioning to a referee. Did you have to use a different part of your brain to go from player to rule enforcer?<\/strong><\/p>\n One hundred percent. It\u2019s such a difficult role. I was going to give up three months in. I really wasn\u2019t enjoying it. I was coming away frustrated from an ex-player perspective \u2014 you just want to make the right calls for the players. They work and train so hard, and I feel that I have a role to those players to provide a platform for them to play.<\/p>\n What made you decide to keep going?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was going out into my first few games with this expectation that I was going to get everything right. I was refereeing alongside referees who had over a decade of experience, and I thought I would be just as good as them.<\/p>\n The moment I realized that, I went into the next game without putting that pressure on myself and understanding that I wasn\u2019t going to get everything right and I was going to make a lot of mistakes.<\/p>\n How did those mistakes shape your refereeing style?<\/strong><\/p>\n I took the time to understand my mistakes, and the more games I did the fewer mistakes I was making because the same things were happening and I knew exactly how to react.<\/p>\n During one match, I was very snappy toward the players. I was the first female at this level, and if you\u2019d ask me if the players had a different approach toward me because I was a female I\u2019d always say no. But obviously I felt \u201cyes\u201d because I was being harsh and biting back.<\/p>\n I immediately realized I didn\u2019t want to be that referee. I want to be the one that can be human, can be approachable, but have a right strike of balance.<\/p>\n Was there a particular moment when you found that balance?<\/strong><\/p>\n I was reffing in the British and Irish Cup in England on International Women\u2019s Day. A male player was laughing, and I knew exactly what I was going to do. I was prepared for it. I stared at this individual as he\u2019s smiling at me. That silence turned into more silence and discomfort. You could cut the tension with a knife. His smiling face eventually turned embarrassed.<\/p>\n I smiled and I said, \u201cWe\u2019re good to continue, aren\u2019t we?\u201d I gave a slight wink, and he smiled back and he goes, \u201cFair enough.\u201d<\/p>\n You now have a decade of refereeing experience under your boots. How do you channel that energy to keep going?<\/strong><\/p>\n I use it as motivation to go out there and work as bloody hard as possible to prove that we need to drop the tags and labels of gender, color, size, sexuality. It\u2019s just about individuals in an environment doing the job to the best of their ability, but to the standard necessary. Nine times out of 10, those guys come up to me afterward and say, \u201cWow, when\u2019s your next game? You\u2019re brilliant.\u201d And for me, that\u2019s the reward.<\/p>\n How do you stay grounded?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don\u2019t fear mistakes anymore. I used to fear them. I saw them as a weakness. But in fact, I now see it as such a strength because we\u2019re not perfect. We\u2019re human; we\u2019re not going to get everything right. I try to reflect and not to react, or take that breath.<\/p>\n How do you prepare for an event like the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a seven-month plan, so I started my plan months and months ago. Right now, it\u2019s down to the nitty-gritty of your communication, your process, and delving into the unique situation and making sure no stone is unturned. I just want to ensure that I have every situation in my mind in my plan. You have to go into this World Cup with your tools sharpened.<\/p>\n