International referee John Lacey goes through some of the rugby law changes coming into effect.

Having enjoyed a successful career with his club and province John Lacey  somewhat accidentally fell into refereeing, recalling an incident where a referee never turned up for a schools game and the Munster Branch were faced with a potentially emabahrasing situation.

“I was in my office in Thomond Park working away and Gerry Moore who worked in the office next door came in and said “We have a bit of a problem” – the referee, through an administrative error, had failed to turn up for the Junior Schools Quarter Final between St. Munchin’s College and CBC Cork.

“Gerry said, with 1500 people after paying through the gate, we will have to give them their money back. Any chance you’ll help us out?”

From then, the Tipperary man never looked back and will be heading down under to be an assistant referee for Australia V South Africa on September 9th and will referee Australia V Argentina seven days later.

With the new season almost upon us, we caught up with Lacey at the High Performance Centre at the University of Limerick to get a breakdown of some of the new laws for the upcoming season.

The video illustrates the changes and what it will mean for players and coaches.