The Nederlandse Rugby League Bond has hosted a match official education activity in Rotterdam as part of the EU-backed Training and Education Portal project.

Held at Sparta Rugby Club in Capelle aan den Ijssel, on the outskirts of Rotterdam, 11 participants from France, Greece, Belgium and Holland took part in the four-day activity, led by the French Federation’s head of match officials, Thierry Alibert, culminating in a Level 1 MO course delivered by the hosts.

Alibert provided overall assessment, while RLEF Match Official Development Squad member George Stilianos from Greece led on training, including new Belgian Rugby League Association match official educator candidates Marco Morasci and Christophe Weyenberghe.

The pair will deliver their own Level 1 course to attain their qualification next year.

One of the candidates, Dutch student Joseph Jhugroo commented: “I thoroughly enjoyed doing the match officials course. It was professionally delivered and well-structured in covering not only the rules of the game but also the physical and practical issues that must be addressed when refereeing. Additionally, the opportunity to speak to experienced international referees was invaluable. It cemented my desire to become involved in rugby league in The Netherlands".

The TEP has received €466.000 from the EU’s Erasmus+ project. It is intended to build the capacity of the RLEF’s 21 European members through high quality training and mentoring.