Rebecca Burch of Counties Manukau and Warwick Lahmert referee during the Bay of Plenty v Counties Manukau Farah Palmer Cup match, Whakatane Rugby Park, Whakatane, New Zealand, Saturday, 24 August 2024. (Photo by Aaron Gillions / action press). Photo credit New Zealand Rugby. Photo: Aaron Gillions/New Zealand Rugby
Warwick Lahmert can't stay away from rugby.
He stopped playing after a long and successful career and is now a referee, making his first class debut last month in the Farah Palmer Cup match between Bay of Plenty and Counties Manukau in Whakatane.
"I've been playing since I was three. So I don't know life without rugby. I wouldn't know where to start if I didn't have rugby in my life, and retiring sort of scared me a bit and I thought how can I give back to the game.
"It was either go down the coaching side or the refereeing side, and I didn't really know [what I wanted to do].
"When I was still playing, Paul Williams (Super Rugby and test rugby referee) called and asked me for a catch-up. So we went for a coffee for about two hours and he said 'come and give refereeing a go'. I was still playing at the time so I didn't really want to as I wanted to finish off my career, but I said I'd think about it. So he pretty much planted the seed.
"I never thought too much of it, but when I finally retired I went and played a season of football, but I missed rugby so much and I knew I needed to do something in rugby. I thought well I can still run, so why not get into refereeing and I can always get into coaching later on once I've given refereeing a crack. So now I'm refereeing."
Horo-Kapiti's Warwick Lahmert. Heartlands Championship match - Horowhenua-Kapiti v West Coast at Paraparaumu Domain, Paraparaumu. Saturday, 5 September 2009. Photo: Dave Lintott/PHOTOSPORT Photo: Dave Lintott
Lahmert, 37, grew up in Waikanae and went to Paraparaumu College before playing for Horowhenua-Kāpiti after leaving school.
Largely a halfback in 15s, Lahmert was playing sevens for the Heartland Union at a tournament in Queenstown when he was spotted by Taranaki and eventually moved north to play for Spotswood United and the Bulls.
He helped Taranaki win an NPC title in 2014.
He also played a season for the All Blacks Sevens in 2012, and later moved to the UK where he represented England Sevens for three seasons before moving back to Aotearoa and playing for Taranaki and Horowhenua-Kāpiti again.
England's Warwick Lahmert jokes with Scott Curry, Beaudine Waaka and Sam Dickson after the final. Day two of the HSBC Sevens, Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand. Saturday 07 February 2015. Copyright Photo: John Cowpland / www.Photosport.co.nz Photo: John Cowpland / www.photosport.co.nz
Lahmert, who lives in Taranaki, retired in 2021 (bar a few games for Waikanae) and 2023 was his first year of being a fully fledged referee.
He believes being a halfback in his playing days prepared him well to be on the other side of the whistle.
"Being a nine and being quite chirpy helped, haha. I've probably seen thousands and thousands of rucks sitting behind the play and that's helped a lot. Being a halfback you get to see a lot of the game and a lot of pictures and the way the games are played and the way referees referee them.
"The biggest learning for me are signals, especially secondary signals, I've had to learn quite a bit there. Also the process around where you stand on the attack line or defensive line and movements around positioning have been the most challenging things.
"But I'm getting it now and I've got to try and give it my best crack now and give back to the game.
Taranaki Adrian Wyrill (L) celebrates his try with Warwick Lahmert during a match against North Harbour. North Harbour v Taranaki, Mitre 10 Cup Rugby, QBE Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand. 15 October 2017. © Copyright Image: Marc Shannon / www.photosport.nz. Photo: Marc Shannon
Lahmert has never been abused as a referee, though he said you need to be fairly unflappable.
"You've got to have quite a thick skin to be a referee because you do get stuck into a bit after some calls are made or questioned after the game, which I don't mind because I've been part of the game since I was a three-year-old and you should have some arguments around why you make some calls. But it's all in good will and everyone means well and I quite enjoy the debates."
Lahmert has risen up the refereeing ranks rather quickly.
"I started doing club under 20s in Taranaki, and the appointment board must of thought I was half-decent and they gave me a division one game and I went all right there, and then in the same year I got to do the last five rounds of premier rugby.
"Now I have a coach, Cam Stone, a retired first-class referee of 20 years, and I pick his brain as much as I can. Paul [Williams] helps me where I can and he's still an international referee, so that's awesome.
"New Zealand Rugby came and watched one of my games up here and liked what I was doing and gave me a crack at [the] Farah Palmer Cup, and I've now done two games."
Lahmert is very much living in the present and isn't sure how far he wants to take refereeing.
"I haven't thought of it too much. It would be awesome to get some top-level games, NPC would be awesome, let alone a test match.
"I'm still learning and I think I'll always be learning no matter how long I'm a ref, always want to be learning and getting better and whatever comes, comes. If I do go further with it, that will be awesome.
"I have a great boss who is very supportive and loves rugby, so he's great with letting me shoot off to referee a game here or there. I'm just taking it all in as I go.
"My coach here doesn't really want me to look at outcome-based goals, but I did have a little goal in my head to get to Heartland Rugby level this year and I've got my first game coming up soon. So I've done Farah Palmer Cup, and hopefully do a Heartland game and go from there."
One thing is for certain: Lahmert is thoroughly enjoying being a referee, despite copping the odd one-liner.
"I had someone recently tell me, 'You're a better ref than you were a player,'" he said, laughing.