Eugenia makes rugby history
Eugenia Daniels has been appointed to her first Test match on Saturday 16 August when she referees the women's Test between Kenya and Uganda. She will create history when she referees the match.
There have been father-and-son combinations as international referees. Not many, but there have been. Johnny and Bertie Strasheim were father and son. In New Zealand Keith Lawrence was a Test referee and his son Bryce is one. But this will be the first time - as far as we know - that the daughter of a Test referee will referee a Test. The first father-daughter combination.
Father Eugene Daniels refereed five Tests from 2001 to 2004. Daughter Eugenia will referee her first in Nairobi, her first trip out of South Africa.
She is fortunate that she will go as part of a South African contingent. Jonathan Kaplan will referee the Africa Cup Test between Kenya and Uganda in Nairobi that day with Cobus Wessels and Lappies Labuschagne as his touch judges. Kaplan is on the verge of becoming the most capped Test referee in rugby history and Wessels is on the International Rugby Board's panel of touch judges. Eugenia is glad of their support and experience.
Father Eugene has been Eugenia's mentor and inspiration. "It helps if your coach lives in the same house."
Eugene was a chef in the army with the rank of sergeant-major till he left the army to work for SA Referees. Eugenia was born in Wynberg while Eugene was at the military base there. He was then a referee in the Western Province Society. After six years in Bloemfontein, the family came back to Wynberg, and Eugenia went to school at Hoërskool Voortrekker where she played netball, as did her two sisters. She never played rugby but she would go off on a Saturday with her Dad and picked up bits and pieces about refereeing and the laws - enough to become critical. Her father, tired of her criticism, challenged her to do better.
Eugenia took up the challenge and joined the Western Province Referees' Society in 2004, when she was just 20. She was the fourth woman to join after Jenny Bentel, Sandra Edwards and Wendy de Kock.
Her father, a meticulous man as becomes a sergeant-major, was meticulous in training her. He was still refereeing at the time but would watch her match before going on to his own whenever possible. He could provide her with checklists and tell her what to work on.
Her progress in the Western Province was rapid. She is now graded 2A and has being refereeing women's provincial matches since 2006. She was the first woman to run touch in a Currie Cup match 0- Western Province vs Boland at Newlands. She has run the line in Division 1 matches and at the IRB Sevens World Series in George. She is the third South African woman to referee a Test - after Jenny Bentel and Kim Smit.
She enjoys referee "a lot".
Her mother is a great support but neither father nor mother will be going off to Nairobi with her. But her father did have some advice - "Don't get injured." His five Tests were all in Africa north of South Africa. On one occasion he injured a calf muscle. He was in Nairobi for the Safari Sevens and went to the medical tent where they put ice on the calf, but it was dry ice, used to keep the other ice cold. It burnt and blistered his skin so that he was unable to referee at the Craven Week in Kimberley!
Both parents are proud of what their daughter is achieving.