Tara Jones: Rugby league ref ready for history to cap ‘crazy week’
tara jones, a former England international turned referee, will become the first woman to take charge of a men’s Super League match on Saturday, 28 March when Wigan Warriors face Huddersfield Giants. She received an MBE earlier in the same week and has been named to the Rugby Football League’s full-time match officials group. The milestone follows a playing career with St Helens and England and a transition into refereeing that has seen her join the men’s game over the past year.
Tara Jones on a ‘crazy week’
“It’s all been a little bit crazy the past few days, ” said Tara Jones, Rugby Football League match official and former England international, reflecting on receiving an MBE and the appointment that will make history. Jones has described the personal recognition for her work in both playing and officiating as “really nice and lovely to celebrate. ” She said the week has placed rugby league “at the forefront” of a wider conversation about opportunity in the sport.
Historic appointment and match details
Jones will take charge of Wigan Warriors’ clash with Huddersfield Giants on Saturday, 28 March. The appointment makes her the first woman in the Rugby Football League’s full-time match officials group to be given a men’s Super League fixture. As a player, she won a Women’s Super League title, two League Leaders’ Shields and four Challenge Cups before retiring in 2024; she has been refereeing in the men’s game for a year and said players “just see me as another referee. ” The fact that tara jones moved from a decorated playing career into top-level officiating underlines the rare path she has taken within the sport.
Roots, reasons and reaction
Jones grew up in Warrington and began officiating when she reached the end of an under-11s season and could no longer play alongside the boys. “I went over to a girls’ team and back then the opportunities for girls to play rugby were few and far between, ” she said, explaining why she picked up the whistle at age 12. She described that choice as driven by stubbornness: determined not to be shut out of the sport she loved, she pursued a route that would keep her involved at the highest levels.
What’s next
The immediate focus is the match on Saturday, 28 March, where tara jones will step onto the field as referee in a landmark fixture. Beyond that, she remains in the Rugby Football League’s full-time match officials group and will continue building her refereeing career at the top level. Observers will watch how her appointment shapes opportunities for others and whether her presence in a men’s Super League match prompts further structural changes in officiating pathways.
All time references in this article use Eastern Time (ET). Reporting based solely on official statements and quotes given by named individuals connected to the events described.
