James Leckie
Encyclopedia
James Thomas Leckie is a rugby union
referee
from Sydney
, Australia
. Originally a teacher
and headmaster, Leckie took up refereeing in 1994 and became a full time referee in 2007. He was appointed to his first test match in 2006, which was a 2007 Rugby World Cup
qualifying match between Hong Kong
and Korea
. He was appointed to the 2005 IRB Under-19 World Championship final and was introduced on to the 2006 IRB
panel of touch judge
s and TMOs for test matches. James has continued to be include on the IRB panel of assistant referees in subsequent years. He has also refereed the rugby union final at the Commonwealth Games
and a final at the Hong Kong Sevens
. Leckie is also a regular referee in the Super 14
and in 2009, was named as one of 9 referees from the SANZAR countries, on the merit based panel, who are to take charge of at least 75% of all games. This is so the best 9 referees from Australia
, New Zealand
and South Africa
, take charge of the Southern Hemispheres best players and teams.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Originally a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and headmaster, Leckie took up refereeing in 1994 and became a full time referee in 2007. He was appointed to his first test match in 2006, which was a 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
qualifying match between Hong Kong
Hong Kong national rugby union team
The Hong Kong national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union side. Hong Kong first played in 1969 and since then have always been in the group of the best Asian teams. Their team is made mostly from British origin players, with some natives from Hong Kong. They have yet to qualify for the...
and Korea
Korea national rugby union team
The Korea national rugby union team represents South Korea in international rugby union. The team is recognized as Korea by the International Rugby Board. Korea has yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup finals....
. He was appointed to the 2005 IRB Under-19 World Championship final and was introduced on to the 2006 IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
panel of touch judge
Touch judge
The touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a game of rugby union or rugby league and raises a flag if the ball goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored following a penalty kick or conversion of a try...
s and TMOs for test matches. James has continued to be include on the IRB panel of assistant referees in subsequent years. He has also refereed the rugby union final at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
and a final at the Hong Kong Sevens
Hong Kong Sevens
The Hong Kong Sevens is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens—a variant of rugby union....
. Leckie is also a regular referee in the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
and in 2009, was named as one of 9 referees from the SANZAR countries, on the merit based panel, who are to take charge of at least 75% of all games. This is so the best 9 referees from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, take charge of the Southern Hemispheres best players and teams.