“Next thing I know Royce had my uniform all sorted,” Hughes said.
“I started refereeing that week.”
He began midway through the 2017 season with under-12s, which was no easy assignment.
By the end of the season he had refereed an u18 game and u16 fixture between Poverty Bay and Ngati Porou East Coast.
His first Senior 1 game came last year when he filled in for someone who was sick.
He ended up with quite a few Senior 1 matches, and was assistant referee in some premier fixtures, sometimes refereeing or running the touch-lines in three or four games a week.
For his efforts on Saturday, Hughes was presented with a ball signed by the All Black squad who won the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Referees needed time to learn their craft, he said.
“I got a bit of flak early on, so was tempted to quit a few times.”
Believing initially that refereeing was mainly about decision-making, he had since learned it was more about game management, getting into good positions and communication.
Projecting confidence with crisp signals also helped.
“My main thing is to be empathetic with the players.
“I’m not out there for myself.”
An open game of rugby might flow on from a referee who was managing the contest well.
“No one really notices when a referee has a good game,” Hughes said.
A jovial character, he needed to be “a bit bossy” on the field.
“I like to be the nice guy but sometimes you’ve got to be firm.”
He hates getting decisions wrong.
“My first penalty on Saturday was wrong. I knew after about two seconds.”
The best thing from making big mistakes was that they would never happen again.
“It’s all learning.”
Hughes was raised on a lifestyle block at Tokomaru Bay, where he was home-schooled.
He completed a business degree at EIT in Gisborne in 2015, then, while he was working, post-graduate accounting studies with his Craig Norgate Memorial Scholarship.
Poverty Bay referees have their own training sessions on Monday nights with the union’s referee education officer, Miah Nikora.
“I’m the fittest I’ve been in my life,” Hughes said.
He had received a lot of encouragement from Maynard and enjoyed the camaraderie with the other Poverty Bay referees.
“They’re really good guys — giving guys.”
