Smith, who participated in 126 Hurricanes games and 94 Test matches for the All Blacks, began officiating this season and has already overseen schoolboy and women’s rugby matches in Taranaki Rugby competitions.
The two-time Rugby World Cup champion said that he has always been interested in how rugby’s regulations affect the game and the effects of changing them. His playing career came to an end in 2018 following a three-year tenure with Top 14 team Pau.
The former All Blacks player said that before this year, the idea of raising the whistle had never occurred to him.
Smith currently oversees player welfare and high performance for World Rugby’s International Rugby Players organization. In his role, he interacts often with match referees and their management, and the rules of the game are frequently topics of conversation.
He told Stuff, “I thought I’d give it a try because conversations naturally lead to discussion around how challenging laws are to actually apply.”
Smith is not the first former player to become a referee; he follows in the footsteps of former players Glen Jackson, the fly-half for the Chiefs, and Karl Dickson, the scrum-half for the Harlequins, who both gave up their careers to pick up the whistle.
Unlike the aforementioned pair, who have officiated international matches for New Zealand and England, respectively, Smith prefers to take part in “good, free-flowing rugby” rather than officiate at a high level.
The “impossible” challenge of replacing Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock is surpassed by Sir John Kirwan’s recommendation of the “most improved” lock for the All Blacks.
“As long as I enjoy it, I’ll keep doing it,” he declared. “It’s not something I can devote my time to every week.”
It’s clear that the 42-year-old is loving his new position and everything that refereeing has to offer.
Smith remarked, “I’ve loved watching some great footy and being involved in the game.”
“I’ve also been fortunate in that every player has shown me a great deal of support, even when they disagree with my calls.”
Lionel Shaw, the head of the Taranaki Rugby Referees Association, is happy that Smith continues to enhance the game by officiating games.
“There can only be positive effects from the fact that Conrad is officiating secondary school players because those players are surrounded by someone who has experienced everything as a player in the game.”
