The Bald Ref - standing up for referees, and for mental health

Today, we're joined by Jonny Cartwright, who you may know as The_Bald_Ref on Instagram. He's just been recognised as Loosehead Of the Year 2025 at the Looseheadz Community Awards.

We talk about:

Jonny's journey from coach to refereeHow he develops referees in his role as T&D lead in Manchester & District Referees (MADRefs)How Looseheadz is and how he got into supporting them (trigger warning)#WaffleWednesdayHis officiating at the World Record rugby matches in Ireland earlier in 2025How he got into trouble for calling out clubs on Instagram when they fail to respect refereesThe effect that has on referee resilience and mental health of match officials

Resources & Links:

Jonny on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_bald_ref/ LooseHeadz: https://looseheadz.co.uk/ LH help and support: https://looseheadz.co.uk/help-and-support/ Previous episodes covering mental health and resilience subjects in rugby and refereeing - Nick Marshall and Tim Wyatt

If you have any comments about this episode, or suggestions for future shows, then drop me a line at ref@rugbyreferee.net!

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