Nic Berry

Nic Berry
Birth nameNicholas Berry
Date of birth (1984-03-13) 13 March 1984 (age 39)
Place of birthBrisbane, Australia
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb; 176 lb)[1]
Occupation(s)Teacher
Rugby union career
Position(s) Halfback
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2004–2007 Queensland Reds 33 (0)
2007–2010 Racing Métro 51 (40)
2010–2013 London Wasps 56 (25)
Refereeing career
Years Competition Apps
2016–pres.
2015–pres.
Super Rugby
National Rugby
Championship
1
5
Correct as of 9 April 2016

Nic Berry (born 13 March 1984 in Brisbane) is an Australian rugby union referee. He took up refereeing after retiring from playing in 2012 due to a series of concussions. After taking up the whistle, he has become one of the few former Super Rugby players to also have refereed a match in Super Rugby.

Playing career

Berry was educated at Ipswich Grammar School in Queensland. He represented Australia in rugby union with the under-21 national team at the under-21 World Cup in Argentina. He made his Super 12 debut for the Queensland Reds against the Hurricanes in 2005. He started four games in 2005, and played another five off the bench. He made his run-on debut at halfback replacing the injured Josh Valentine in a match against the Bulls. In 2006 Berry was selected in the Australian Prime Minister's XV to take on the Japanese national team in Tokyo on 4 November. He was also part of the Sunnybank team that won the 2005 and 2007 Queensland Premier Rugby trophy.

In July 2007, it was rumoured that Berry was looking at offers from overseas and requesting a release from S14 and ARC commitments. He then left the Queensland Reds and moved to Racing Métro 92 Paris where he played for the following three seasons. At the beginning of the 2010–11 season Berry joined London Wasps on a two-year contract.[2] After a number of strong performances he signed a contract extension for the following two seasons.[3] Berry retired early into the 2012–13 season at the advice of his physician after sustaining a series of concussions.[4]

Refereeing career

Berry made a rapid rise up the refereeing ranks in 2015, making his debut both in Queensland Premier Rugby and in Australia's National Rugby Championship within a year of taking up the whistle.[5]

He joined the Super Rugby referees panel for the 2016 season,[6] and refereed his first match in Super Rugby on 9 April 2016, between the Stormers and Sunwolves.

He was selected as one of the referees at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Wasps". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  2. ^ "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | Guinness Premiership | Racing nine signs for Wasps". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Wasps secure scrum half". Bucks Free Press. 8 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Wasps' Nic Berry forced to retire". ESPN Scrum. 1 October 2012.
  5. ^ "Profile: Former Reds scrumhalf and now NRC Referee Nic Berry". 25 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Refs and law variations revealed" (Press release). SANZAR. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2019 - Officials: Nic Berry". web page. Rugby World Cup Limited. Retrieved 20 November 2019.

External links