When Ben O'Keeffe puts his hand up, it's usually for an infringement on the rugby field.
Now, it's to help New Zealand, if required, combat the Covid-19 outbreak.
The test and Super Rugby referee is also a doctor specialising in eye treatment, and has offered his services to a New Zealand health system he says is coping remarkably better than its overseas counterparts.
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O'Keeffe got a closer glimpse than most as the virus began to take hold overseas, travelling from Rome to Pretoria, then to London, and finally back to New Zealand, all in a span between mid-February and mid-March.
"I was all over the world really and in the background hearing what was starting to happen," O'Keeffe told NZME.
"I didn't really fully understand but now we're all settled into lockdown I realise the impact of what was actually starting to brew."
Looking back on his time in Rome where he officiated Italy and Scotland's Six Nations fixture on February 22, O'Keeffe realises the warning signs were there.
"That's when people just started talking about a few cases up in the north. We didn't understand what that meant yet, but looking back now I was lucky to be able to get back and be safe."
O'Keeffe was an assistant referee at the match between the Chiefs and Hurricanes on March 13, and then again the following afternoon as the Blues hosted the Lions at Eden Park, in what was the last game of professional rugby on New Zealand soil. He worked both games with South Africans Jaco Peyper and Marius van der Westhuizen as a "pod", with his colleagues supposed to be in New Zealand for three weeks' worth of games.
"Friday night, we started talking about it, reading the news. We started to joke 'this could be the last round of Super Rugby boys, we'd better do a good job'," O'Keeffe recalls.
Then, while the Blues were pummelling the Lions the next day, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was effectively shutting off the country with major travel restrictions.
"It really started to sink in. Marius and Jaco were literally sitting down to dinner and got a phone call that they were on flights at 6am the next morning and were heading back to South Africa before their borders started to lock down."
Super Rugby was essentially suspended at that point, before the level 3 and level 4 restrictions followed a week later, and O'Keeffe has put his spare time to poring over the latest Covid-19 data from around the world.
"I'm reading up on cases, especially in New York and the UK where the systems are so stretched and the doctors and nurses are overworked. They're having to send a lot of people away that would normally be in the hospital and being treated as well. It's doubled the effect of the people that are unwell around the world."
But, he believes New Zealand is in a good spot, and is ready to offer hands-on help.
"The New Zealand health system is coping really well. I've told the hospitals I'm happy to volunteer and help out when I can. Fortunately, they seem to be on top of things and they haven't required me to go in yet. Who knows, that may change, but I've got a set of skills I've learned over a number of years to be able to help out. It's kind of a nice thing they don't need me right now."
While O'Keeffe has kept working in the medical field during his time as a referee, he certainly couldn't have foreseen this scenario just over a month ago when he had the whistle for the clash between England and Wales at Twickenham.
Controversy erupted post-match as England coach Eddie Jones slammed O'Keeffe's issuing of a red card to England midfielder Manu Tuilagi for a no-arms tackle. Jones lit a fuse post-match when he claimed Wales had the advantage of "16 versus 13" at the end of the game (the match was won, it must be noted, by England), after the hosts had already had another player yellow-carded.
O'Keeffe is philosophical on the matter some five weeks on.
"Rugby's rugby and there's always going to be opinion in the game, that's what we live with. Rugby's entertainment, it's a great thing to be part of but with what's been happening around the world in countries like Italy, the UK and especially the US, like New York, it really puts things into perspective of what's important.
"We've got to be realistic. It's going to be a wee while [until rugby resumes]. I hope it's sooner rather than later, but I also think we want to make sure it's safe for everyone to get back on the field."
Until then, O'Keeffe will keep up his fitness at his home on the Kapiti Coast, along with a spot of self-assessment.
"I've got a field pretty much next door so I'm able to keep in my bubble and get some fresh air and do some work on the field as well as indoor training at home. I'd already refereed six games and I've looked at those games to see areas I can improve or work on."
• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website
