Trailblazing South African rugby referee Aimee Barrett-Theron, who is on the cusp of overseeing her 50th Test match, lauds the 2025 Women’s World Cup – a tournament that drew record crowd attendance and viewership numbers – as the best thing to happen to rugby.
“The World Cup just gets better and better on the world stage, being able to ref the best women’s rugby players in the world, it’s incredibly special. I just think that for women’s rugby, that was the best thing that could have happened to the game; it was this incredible showcase. England put on a really great spectacle, filling out stadiums, and the supporters are incredible as well. One team scored and everyone cheered, the other team scored and everyone cheered.”
“I am just really loving my job and loving being on the other side, I think it’s incredible. And, you know, the records were not broken by a little bit, and it’s just incredible to see. I feel very privileged to be a part of it.”
World Rugby Referee, Aimee Barrett-Theron
“I do take a moment every now and then, even in the game, to look at the full stadium, and there are 80,000 people, just to save that in my memory bank. I hope it just gets bigger and better,” Barrett-Theron continues enthusiastically.
This World Cup demonstrated the rapid growth of women’s rugby, and Barrett-Theron highlights that the event reinforced the sport’s value and investment potential.
“That’s a great question, and the World Cup proved the women’s game merits investment. Its growth is clear as interest spreads to unions. I wish unions would view women’s rugby as its own unique product, not in comparison to the men’s game, and drive growth on those terms.”
We want more rugby in schools, and I think that watching the World Cup, I know a lot more people watched this World Cup, and then they saw how incredible the players are. As far as being athletes, being strong and physical, and being confident, I think the whole mindset is shifting in the way people think about women’s rugby.”
As a referee, it can be said that Barrett-Theron has had a front-row seat to witness the growth of women’s rugby. She agrees with this sentiment and shared that the positive change she has seen has been immense.
“I get the best seat in the house on the field, and I can definitely tell you, the physicality of the game has grown immensely.”
“The ability of the ball and play time is a lot higher, the women want to play, there are a lot of passes, and they just are so relentless at trying to score. There are a lot more kicks in the game, and so the general rugby IQ was incredible.”
“It makes it harder and harder for us to ref because teams are really their masterminds in their own way, and their own stars from where they come from. It’s a nice challenge for us as referees to try to figure them out and figure the individuals out. It’s just incredible, incredible talent out there.”
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Barrett-Theron feels that one of the biggest advancements of women’s rugby has to be the professionalisation of the game, as this ensures that growth continues in a positive direction.
“I would definitely say the professionalisation of the sport. What we’ve seen is that more and more teams are becoming professional. There is a sort of gap between the women’s and the men’s, but I think we just need to build and grow and work on our own timeline. It’s just great to see that women are being paid to play the sport that they love, to represent their country.”
“So it’s no longer working a full day and then going to your rugby and a gym session. It’s been very special to be a part of the Springbok Women’s journey and to see how professional they are in their training.”
“I attend many of their camps, help them with the law sessions and things like that. Our teams are really trying to do everything they can to perform as best as they can on the field.”
As a referee, Barrett-Theron finds herself as one of the few female officials and says it’s important that more women join the profession. She has been fortunate enough to receive support during her career and says this is important for women to succeed as officials.
“It is really important. It is a male-dominated sport, that’s not a negative thing. That’s what it is with the history of the game. It’s just small moments, and in big moments, it’s important to show the woman that they are valued.”
“It’s a whole different challenge if a man becomes a referee and a woman becomes a referee; this is a completely different challenge along the way. It’s important, similar to how we want the women’s rugby to be seen, that the players be their own separate identity.”
“I think it’s important to do it with the referees as well. We do think differently. We do react in different ways. There are different things, and I think it’s important that that’s acknowledged, and that the women are supported.”
“I was very lucky in my refereeing career; they took me under their wing and again, at Western Province and SA Rugby. They made sure that the games I reffed, I had the support that I needed to make it, and I think it’s important for everyone to be doing that, to be inclusive.”
She has openly spoken about using her Autism as a superpower, and Barrett-Theron says that being a former player as well as being on the spectrum has given her a unique outlook.
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“I think it gives me a bit of a bigger perspective. I’ve had to learn as far as communication and just balancing that, being too direct. How can I listen to a player? I think probably along my journey, like one of the things that unfortunately happens is you don’t always feel heard.”
“I always try to make the players feel heard. So it’s very important to me that I get that player rapport, because, you know, I just have so much respect for the players, like I’ve been there and I can sympathise with them or empathise with them.”
“Being on the spectrum, it obviously makes me a bit different from the other referees, and in some areas, I have to try harder, but in some areas, it puts me ahead.”
Barrett-Theron, who was also this year’s Inverroche Global Woman in Sport at the 2025 gsport Awards, is enjoying a pioneering career and is hopeful she will be officiating at many more World Cups and domestic competitions in the coming years.
“I think the nature of refereeing, doors open up all the time, and they close in other ways. I just love refereeing, and I want to ref as long as I can.”
“Just in general, my international Tests is currently sitting on 49, so getting to 50 is a massive milestone, and I hope, in my refereeing career, that I can set that Test match total that other referees strive for, and I challenge them to break it as well!”
“In the men’s game, I’d love to keep progressing more, more Currie Cup games, more URC, perhaps a bit of World Rugby Assistant Refereeing, it’s a different challenge. I don’t want to use the women’s game as a stepping stone into the men’s game.”
“My objectives in the women’s game and my objectives in the men’s game are totally different. It’s great to be a part of the playoffs in different competitions. So as much as I can in the next couple of years, until I keep until I stop passing the fitness.”
Main Photo Caption: Just one game away from 50 Test matches as a referee, Top South African referee Aimee Barrett-Theron discusses the growing professionalisation of Women’s Rugby, which is helping to drive growth and investment in the sport. All Photos: Supplied
Photo 2 Caption: The World Rugby official is on the cusp of overseeing her 50th Test match, and she challenges her women referees colleagues to pursue this milestone.
Photo 3 Caption: A former player, Barrett-Theron cherishes opportunities to help the Springbok Women, using her unique perspective to foster their professional journey.
Photo 4 Caption: Candid about using Autism as a superpower, Barrett-Theron says that being a former player as well as being on the spectrum has given her a unique outlook.
Photo 5 Caption: On the Rugby World Cup 2025 – ‘I am just really loving my job. The records were not broken by a little bit, and it’s just incredible to see. I feel very privileged to be a part of it.’
