Referee profiles D

Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Full name: Carlo Damasco
Born: Naples, 3 September 1972
Occupation:  Salesman
Family: Wife Mara and daughter Sara
Playing: Reached Italy Under-17
Started refereeing: 1992 when his club imported a scrumhalf from Argentina
Society: Napoli
Highlights: Under-19 Championship in Durban in 2004, Under-21 World Championship in Mendoza in 2005, final European Challenge Cup in 2005, Italy's Super 10 final in 2006
First test: Germany vs Denmark in 2003, a World Cup qualifier
First IRB Test: Georgia vs Portugal, 2006
IRB Status: Merit panel of touch judges and TMOs (2006)

Eric Darrière (France)

Full name: Eric Darrière
Born: 22 January 1966
Occupation: Professional referee
Started refereeing:
Society: Côte Basque Landes
First Test:
Status: IRB panel

Rob Davies (Wales)

Full name: Robert George Davies
Born: Swansea, 13 October 1955
Educated: Penlan School Swansea, Universities of London, Swansea and South Bank
Occupation: schoolmaster (Assistant Principal at Carmarthenshire College
Referees’ Society: Amman Valley and Llwchwr Referees’ Society

Eugene Daniels (South Africa)

Full name: Eugene Clive Daniels
Born: Stellenbosch, 16 August 1960.
Educated: Gordon Senior Secondary
Occupation: Soldier
Family: Married with three children
Started refereeing: 1989
Society: Western Province Referees’ Society
1st league: 1997
1st Provincial match: 1996
1st Test: 2001, Zimbabwe and Namibia
Status: Retired - 2005

Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)

Full name: Kelvin Mark Deaker
Born: Balclutha, Otago, 19 October 1965
Playing: Representative age-group rugby till injured
Graduated from Lincoln University
Occupation: Professional Referee, formerly an accountant
Family: wife Meghan, children Jessica and Matthew.
Started refereeing: 1991
Referees’ Society: Hawkes Bay Referees’ Association
First representative match: 1996, Buller v Horowhenua, NPC III, Westport
First test Japan v Wales June 2001

Rob Debney (England)

Full name: Robert Stephen Debney
Born: Stafford on 15 December 1973
Education: King Edward VI High School (Stafford), Loughborough University
Occupation: schoolmaster become professional referee
Family:  Married Justine, and they have two children, Holly and Alexander.
Playing career: prop at school; after injury concentrated on athletics and became a junior international
Started refereeing: at school
Society: Leicestershire Referees' Society
Highlights: IRB's Under-21 World Championship final in 2003, IRB Sevens Circuit
First Test: Canada vs USA
Status: IRB's merit panel of touch judges and TMOs
He speaks French, Italian and Russian

Pablo Deluca (Argentina)

Full name: Pablo César Deluca 
Born: Buenos Aires, 15 March 1963
Occupation: Lawyer
Family: Married to Belén with three children - Jazmin, Pablo and Belén.
Playing career: scrumhalf or wing Liceo Militar in the 1st division for 12 seasons
Started refereeing: 1980
Society: A.R.U.A.R. (Asociación de Referees de la Unión Argentina de Rugby)
First Representative match: 1993
First Test: 1996, England vs Italy
IRB Status: retired from international rugby, 2004

Henrie de Ruiter (Holland)

Full name: Henrie Leonardus Gerardus de Ruiter
Full date of birth: Oisterwijk (Holland) on 27 December 1963
Occupation: Manager at the head office Rabobank Nederland
Playing career: Played from 1977 to 1993 - a hooker for Oisterwijk Oysters RFC
Started refereeing: 1993
Referees' Society: Nederlandse Sociëteit van Rugby Scheidsrechter
Why you started refereeing: Lack of time to train on fixed hours
First Test: 1998, Switzerland vs the Czech Republic
Other highlights: Regional Cup: Flandres vs Pays de Loire, Wallonie vs Tchequia, several Heineken Amsterdam 7’s (Holland), several Heidelberg 7’s (Germany. Qualifiers at Under-20 and Under-19 level in the Czech Republic, Euro Cup matches in France and Germany and the Under-189 World Cup in Italy in 2002.

Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Full name: Giulio De Santis
Born: Rome, 22 July 1967
Occupation: policeman (anti-organised crime)
Playing career: For Lazio till Under-19
Started refereeing: 1986
First Test: 1999, Belgium vs Poland

Rob Dickson (Scotland)

Full name: James Robert Dickson
Born: Edinburgh, 2 February 1968
Educated: Merchiston Castle School
Club: Madras College FP (Fife)
Started refereeing:1991
Society: Edinburgh Referees’ Society
First Test: 1998, Italy vs Wales
In Rob's post-Sandhurst and army days he was taken under the wings of two other respected Scottish referees, Jim Fleming and John Bacigalupo.

Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

Full name: Stuart James Dickinson
Born: Sydney, 19 July 1968
School: Epping Boys’ High
Occupation: Professional referee, formerly a transport manager with FOX and before that a policeman
Family: Married to Fiona, father of Michael
Society: New South Wales Rugby Referees’ Association
Started: 1988
First test: 1997

Gareth Doyle (Ireland)

Full name: Gareth Doyle 
Born: Limavady, Northern Ireland on 27 April 1960
Family:  Married to Judith. They have four children - Lesley, Richard, William, Caroline.
Occupation:  Contracts Manager, with civil engineering contractor Playing career:  Captained Welsh Universities 1982, Played for Abertillery during my time at University College Cardiff, played senior rugby for Ballymena (the club of WJ McBride, Syd Millar, Trevor Ringland, Gary Longwell, etc)
Started refereeing:  1992
Referees' Society: Ulster Society
Why you started refereeing: Getting too old to play!  (Also suffered from the same knee injury as Paul Gascoigne but did not receive the same press coverage!)
First Test: Switzerland vs Ukraine in 2001 in a World Cup Qualifier.
Highlights: "Touch judging for Dave McHugh who must be the best referee in the world at present."

Herve Dubes (France)

Full name: Herve Dubes
Born: 25 August 1966
Occupation: Engineer
Started refereeing:
Society: Côte d'Argent
First Test:

Joël Dumé (France)

Full name: Joël Dumé
Born: Preignac, Gironde, 20 December 1959
Occupation:  Directeur des Services, Comîté de Rugby de Côte d’Argent (CEO of the rugby province of Côte d’Argent, where the main city is Bordeaux)
Family: Married; two sons
Society: Comîté de Côte d’Argent
Started: 1980
First test: 1993, Wales vs England in Cardiff
IRB status: Retired