Sunny Lee – A New Generation Of Rugby Match Official

We’ve seen Hong Kong China Rugby match official Sunny Lee at a number of tournaments in recent times and were keen to find out more on how she became an international rugby referee, the challenges she has overcome and her message to others looking to get involved in the sport.

Getting Into Rugby – Sunny Lee

From the HSBC Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, Asia Rugby tournaments, the Hong Kong and Singapore SVNS, and domestic HKCR rugby, Sunny has been a globetrotter as a match official after only having made her debut in the region at the U20 Sevens championships in Nepal – so how did she find herself in this position?

Even after this interview took place, Sunny was selected to officiate the final of the third Women’s leg of the Challenger Series in Krakow, and on Monday 27th May – will take charge of her first international XV game when Japan play Kazakhstan in the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship in Hong Kong.

Sunny told us, “In high school, I was involved in track and field and then after I attended University, I discovered that the competition was super big in track and field. I wanted to try new sports that still involved running and saw some advertising for a Summer job with Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR). I applied and by the end of the Summer, I was in love with the sport.”

Photo Credit – SSRUR – Sunny Lee with the AR team at the Singapore SVNS 2024 (front row second from right)

This was in 2017 so it’s not taken Sunny not long to become a regular on the Asian circuit as a match Referee and Assistant Referee but there were some bumps along the way in her journey.

“My playing life wasn’t too long, like a half year. Then I met Craig Chan, who is another Hong Kong China referee who introduced me to refereeing,” added Sunny. We asked if she was already aware of the sport in Hong Kong when she started and to our surprise, we found out that was her introduction to rugby. So what were her initial impressions?

“I loved running with the ball and I really enjoyed it being a physical sport. So you have to have a lot of belief in yourself to play this sport. I actually only played contact rugby and it was only after I graduated from University and joined the HKCR as staff that I started working with touch rugby.

Sunny Lee is also the Rugby Development Leader at Hong Kong China Touch and will be heading to the Touch World Cup 2024 as a Team Manager.

I did play a lot when I first started the job because I needed to understand the sport. A couple of years ago I realised it would be too busy for me if I wanted to give refereeing a go, so I stopped playing then.”

The role of the rugby referee and other match officials is far too often not appreciated by those who watch and play the sport. Sunny admits she also did not have a great start but has persevered.

“I didn’t start well because in my first game I refereed in XVs, I received an email complaint from one of the teams who sent it to my boss at the time. I remember crying on the pitch side because I knew that I didn’t make all the right calls and I wasn’t prepared enough to referee the game. 

“My knowledge wasn’t there so I tended to study more and then I found it really satisfying if I have a really good game and players come to me and say thank you, which is really important to me to carry on my journey. 

I started to build myself up with more game experience, and with more experience, I became a better referee during this journey. I was lucky enough to get involved in the Asia Rugby Sevens tournament last year (2023) and then the Hong Kong Rugby Referee Society provided lots of opportunities –  and I have since then been on more overseas tours and more international tournaments,” Sunny told us.

Rugby Match Officials And Support Structures

We have spoken to referees like Craig Chan before, and he also pointed out the vital support structure that exists for the match officials, so we asked Sunny about her experience.

“Most of the support comes from fellow referees because we don’t have a team from the same country. We tend to group as a team over the course of a weekend, and then we separate and head back to our own country. But they are all really kind people and easy to work with. We support each other, watch each other’s games and then give feedback or suggestions to each other. 

If my fellow referees do something well, we will complement and encourage each other. For example, this weekend, I was an assistant referee for a game and ran down the touchline because there was a tough decision in the corner. I got my position right and the call – when I got back to the changing room my colleagues commented on my good positioning.”

Photo Credit: Hong Kong Rugby Referees Society – Sunny Lee on the Sevens Challenger Series 2024

Sunny also said that in the Asian region, there are good referee coaches who help to assist referees like her and that they “really look after all the referees and want to give opportunities for them to express themselves and then maybe talk to the World Rugby coaches to let them know that have a referee that has potential and then they will try get them to get into international rugby.”

Respect In Rugby

On the issues of referees and match officials being shown the right level of respect and the abuse directed at them which has been highlighted in recent seasons in rugby, Sunny told us, “I think in Hong Kong, we started to raise awareness and run some campaigns of the foreign and local referees who are helping out the game behind the scenes which is already helping to build better relationships.”

Sunny explained, “I think the problem is when players are playing, they get too excited and it’s easy to blame results on the referees rather than to admit that they didn’t play well. I think they will need to learn to take on responsibility too – it’s a part of the game. Referees are humans, so let’s just respect each other and understand we will all make mistakes.”

Asked if she felt there was any difference with the reaction or the treatment from players at the highest level, as opposed to maybe a lower club level, Sunny told us, “I think in lower-level competitions, maybe we will have some more new referees, and they might not be as good at dealing with some situations. Some of them will just freak out.

Photo Credit – SSRUR – Singapore SVNS 2024 – Assistant Referee team

But at this higher level, all of the refs know how to deal with the players. In Hong Kong, we will have a referee coach to look after the new referees, just to make sure they don’t get bullied, and they can assess what tools can be used to help them out and better develop them.”

Is There Bias Towards Female Rugby Referees?

“At first, especially when you’re taking charge of a men’s game, I might get some comments on being a woman refereeing the game. But I think if you show them (players) competence, you show them you can do your job, they will respect that, which I think is really good awareness in the referee community, or the greater rugby community and the supporters,” said Sunny Lee.

“We started to build up women’s rugby in Hong Kong and have tried to have more female referees during the female games, which I think shows that the participation of women in rugby is growing, which is a positive change.

In the years to come, we will have even more women participating, and in more leading roles, and I’m really looking forward to that,” commented Sunny.

Sunny Lee (second from left)- Refereed the Women’s final of the Sevens Challenger in Krakow (May 2024)

What Message Would You Send To Those Looking To Get Involved In Rugby? 

Sunny paused, and said, “I guess just believe in yourself. When people look down on you or when someone or something knocks you down – like my first game which didn’t go well – you just need to learn from your mistakes and don’t give up. Just believe that you can be better and you will have better days and try and reach the level you want to reach.”

Thanks to the SSRUR for the photos provided by the Singapore HSBC SVNS 2024.

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