The smiling Ref

Sitting beside James Bolabiu you notice a grin that will just not go away. Many men in Fiji have a similar smile and earn money helping tourists enjoy life in Fiji, James is at the other end of the spectrum as he is jet setting around the globe doing what he loves refereeing rugby. Reflecting on his work his eyes light up and stories of joy, mind experiences, pressures and personal growth come out of his mouth. Touching on the best day of his life James said “they let control the Hong Kong 7s final, I never thought or dreamt that I would ref the Final” He has total clarity and total recall of the match and all the decisions he made, “the intensity and atmosphere was amazing, having to keep focussed and calm was the key to my approach”.

“Dealing with famous players is a real test, they are professionals and know what they are doing, they also try to get away with a lot and this silly stuff is when I have to step in”. His natural style is to get a feel for the game as if he is playing in it, to let the boys play their game. Having come through the system and various levels of rugby James is confident in his fitness, admits there is a bit of nervousness at times but has big faith in the big Ref in heaven to see him through.

Life is about to get more centre stage for James as today he was named to join the IRB Touch Judge Panel with 22 other referees from around the world. “It is a great honour and I would like to thank my Family and the Fiji Rugby Union for all their support”. He spoke of “Game Management” a lot, this composure he has is evident in the way he talks and observes normal life. It is also there in the games he controls with the whistle and soon he will be amongst some of the biggest rugby games in the world, a challenge that this young man will thrive in and even better help these games flow for us to enjoy.