HIGH ACHIEVERS: World-class referee Joyce Henry will be inducted into Rugby Canada Hall of Fame

By Martin Cleary

Joyce Henry studied journalism at Carleton University, but during that time she made a significant discovery that had nothing to do with writing, editing or checking her sources.

A friend took her one day to the Ravens women’s rugby tryouts and Henry instantly loved all aspects of the contact team sport. She made the team and played for Carleton for most of her university career.

Learning rugby at Carleton only whet her appetite for more of the game, which is a combination of physicality, teamwork, leadership and finally game-over camaraderie. She found that in the Ottawa club system with the Ottawa Indians (now Ottawa Ospreys Rugby), Ottawa Banshees (now Ottawa Beavers and Banshees Rugby Football Club) and eventually the Eastern Ontario representative team.

Henry remembers winning an Ontario championship with her Eastern Ontario team in 1996. But she took something far more important from that team experience than a trophy celebration, something that fuelled her for the next 11 years of her life in a dramatic and fulfilling manner and had her visit 12 countries and travel across Canada.

“My coach with the Eastern Ontario team demanded that we give back to the sport,” Henry said in a recent phone interview. “She told all the players to take referee or coaching courses and what we did with that after was up to us.”

Henry invested many hours to become an on-field official and parlayed that into emerging as a highly respected referee and touch judge in the world of women’s and men’s international, national and provincial rugby. She took the first two levels of the International Rugby Board refereeing course in July, 2001. In 2003, she attended a national refereeing certification program course conductor clinic and completed the first two levels of the IRB touch judge course.

It has been more than 12 years since Henry refereed her final game – a North American Caribbean Rugby Association (now Rugby Americas North) Sevens World Cup qualifier tournament – but the memories of her career flooded back after she received a recent phone call from Rugby Canada.

Henry, 54, learned she was part of the distinguished 2024 Rugby Canada Hall of Fame class and would be inducted some time in 2025 as a match official along with Ian Hyde-Lay.

Eddie Evans, Ed Fairhurst, John Hutchinson, Barbara Mervin and Daniel Tailliferre Hauman van der Merwe will enter the hall as players, while Colette McAuley and Rick Powers will be recognized as builders.

“I was surprised. I felt very honoured to be recognized when you look at that group. I was blown away,” Henry recalled about the phone call she received from Rugby Canada.

“I was really humbled … honoured. It wasn’t on my radar and has come as a big, pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect it and when I think of it, it seems surreal.”

Henry, who is a director general for two federal government portfolios, has travelled across Canada and around the world as a referee and touch judge at a wide variety of competitions.

Serving on the Canadian national referee panel from 2004 to 2012, Henry officiated at 16 test matches, including the 2006 and 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cups in Edmonton and London, England respectively. She was the only referee from Canada in Edmonton and one of only eight female referees on the 15s panel.

Henry also oversaw games in the 2011 and 2012 Women’s Six Nations competition, three Nations Cup championships (2008-10) and the 2010 European championship.

In April, 2011, Henry became one of the first women to referee a men’s international match, when Bermuda played host to the Bahamas at the NACRA championship.

She has happy memories of that match.

“I rode a motorbike to the game across a beautiful stretch of land,” Henry said about her first motorbike experience. “The players were great, but at the time they were surprised when I rolled up as the woman referee.”

She also recalled players getting overheated and swearing during the game, but they quickly apologized to Henry for their actions.

Joyce also represented Canada at numerous sevens competitions. Her list of accomplishments included the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, where she was one of four female referees, world university competitions and IRB Sevens games in the United States, Italy, China and Spain.

The Women’s Six Nation match between Ireland and host Italy in Rovigo in February, 2011, has a special moment for Henry.

“It was one of the games I enjoyed the most. The crowd was really loud and raucous. The stadium was filled and you don’t often get that for women’s rugby.”

She also tried to learn some Italian words that would be game relevant to the home team players and had an amazing homemade pasta meal with the other officials in a little hotel.

Being a female official for a men’s game also can have its awkward moments.

From 2006-08, Henry regularly refereed in the Rugby Canada Super League, which was the top men’s amateur league for teams in Canada. Female referees were never seen in the league until Henry showed up for one game. She couldn’t recall if it was in Saskatchewan or New Brunswick.

“The (public address) announcer said I was the referee of the female variety,” Henry explained.

Towards the end of her career, Henry was named to the inaugural IRB women’s referee panel in March, 2011. She was one of eight women from around the world on the panel.

After Henry retired as a referee at the end of the 2012 season, the Eastern Ontario Rugby Referees’ Society granted her a life membership.

When the cool weather arrives every fall, Henry reflects on the greatness of her sport. She would love to be on the field to officiate a university game with its open and fast play.

“I miss it, the challenges, the players and the physicality,” she admitted. “I’m not really involved any more, but I keep my eye on the game. I really enjoyed my on-field role, but I’m an executive in the federal government and I spend a lot of time with administrative and office work.”

If she finds time in the future, she may coach some individuals in the art of refereeing. Maybe someone will develop an immediate attraction to rugby like Henry did about 35 years ago.

“I care about the sport,” Henry said.