Paddy O'Brien: Whistle While You Work

Players and spectators want the rugby referee to be No 31, not No 1, which is why Southlander Paddy O'Brien has been such a popular adjudicator since he broke into top level refereeing almost a decade ago. At 42, O'Brien claims more than 160 first-class appointments, including 21 tests.Ranked among the top echelon of referees in the world, he has controlled World Cup events, Six Nations fixtures and had charge of the deciding Australia-British Lions test in Sydney in 2001.One game about which he wants to set the record straight is the France-Fiji World Cup encounter at Toulouse in 1999, for which he received a shellacking. It is the one black spot in his distinguished refereeing career. Seldom has NZ had a more popular, internationally-rated referee...and seldom have they been so marvellously unobtrusive both on and off the field.