Since growing up on a farm outside of Grahamstown, referee Sindile Ngcese has come a long way to be named the Eastern Province Referee Society's Referee of the Year, at a recent awards dinner held in Port Elizabeth. The award truly came as a surprise to Ngcese, who hadn't even prepared a speech. His referee career only started in 2009, but he has become a familiar face at various first team rugby matches in the area.
When asked what he considered to be the highlight of his career, Ngcese responded: “When I walk onto the field I always regard that game as my best”. However, he fondly recalled the derby between Graeme and St Andrew's colleges this year, although it took place in heavy rain. As a youngster, Ngcese used to travel to Grahamstown from the farm where he was staying to watch the Graeme vs St Andrew's derby. “As a kid I never expected I would be the man in the middle,” said Ngcese.
Another highlight for Ngcese was the U21 rugby match between Nelson Mandela Metropolitan and Rhodes universities, that he refereed. After the match Ngcese said he was thanked by the NMMU coaching staff for the fair game, and they were surprised to hear that Ngcese had also been coaching Rhodes at the time.
Ngcese took up rugby in 1993 while attending Andrew Moyake Public Primary. He was part of the unbeaten U13 side which played all the local township schools as well as against Graeme and St Andrew's. The same year saw Ngcese represent the South Eastern District Rugby Union (Sedru) U15 side, as well as the Albany side.
In senior school, Ngcese attended Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School where he played for the first team in his last two years there. In 1997 he made the EP U19 side that won gold at the provincial event that year. While in matric, he was also part of the New Town City soccer team which is where he met Jeff Budaza, the current Makana Municipality Sport and Recreation Manager, whom Ngcese says, “played a great roll in my life,” and helped him to be disciplined in sport.
After matriculating, Ngcese played for the Lily White first rugby side where he also helped with the coaching. He played for the EP Country District team in 2001, 2005 and 2006 and was part of the Rural team from 2003 to 2005. It was in 2006 when the EP Country District side finished third in the Kimberley tournament that Ngcese knew he had “reached the ceiling” in his playing career.
He then helped coach the Rhodes U21 and firsts from 2006, and oversaw the occasional game. In 2009 he stopped playing and coaching to focus on his career as a referee, which was previously only based on watching matches on TV and reading rule books. It was in 2010 when South African Rugby Union (Saru) officials saw him in action at Miki Yili Stadium, and since then he has been under the wing of Saru. He is currently part of the South African Rugby Referee Academy squad and works under John Klaas, the regional assessor.
Ngcese currently referees in the Grand Challenge which is the provincial first league, and recently refereed the Super League A 1st reserves match between Durbanville and Hamilton in Cape Town.
Since growing up on a farm outside of Grahamstown, referee Sindile Ngcese has come a long way to be named the Eastern Province Referee Society's Referee of the Year, at a recent awards dinner held in Port Elizabeth. The award truly came as a surprise to Ngcese, who hadn't even prepared a speech. His referee career only started in 2009, but he has become a familiar face at various first team rugby matches in the area.
When asked what he considered to be the highlight of his career, Ngcese responded: “When I walk onto the field I always regard that game as my best”. However, he fondly recalled the derby between Graeme and St Andrew's colleges this year, although it took place in heavy rain. As a youngster, Ngcese used to travel to Grahamstown from the farm where he was staying to watch the Graeme vs St Andrew's derby. “As a kid I never expected I would be the man in the middle,” said Ngcese.
Another highlight for Ngcese was the U21 rugby match between Nelson Mandela Metropolitan and Rhodes universities, that he refereed. After the match Ngcese said he was thanked by the NMMU coaching staff for the fair game, and they were surprised to hear that Ngcese had also been coaching Rhodes at the time.
Ngcese took up rugby in 1993 while attending Andrew Moyake Public Primary. He was part of the unbeaten U13 side which played all the local township schools as well as against Graeme and St Andrew's. The same year saw Ngcese represent the South Eastern District Rugby Union (Sedru) U15 side, as well as the Albany side.
In senior school, Ngcese attended Nathaniel Nyaluza Secondary School where he played for the first team in his last two years there. In 1997 he made the EP U19 side that won gold at the provincial event that year. While in matric, he was also part of the New Town City soccer team which is where he met Jeff Budaza, the current Makana Municipality Sport and Recreation Manager, whom Ngcese says, “played a great roll in my life,” and helped him to be disciplined in sport.
After matriculating, Ngcese played for the Lily White first rugby side where he also helped with the coaching. He played for the EP Country District team in 2001, 2005 and 2006 and was part of the Rural team from 2003 to 2005. It was in 2006 when the EP Country District side finished third in the Kimberley tournament that Ngcese knew he had “reached the ceiling” in his playing career.
He then helped coach the Rhodes U21 and firsts from 2006, and oversaw the occasional game. In 2009 he stopped playing and coaching to focus on his career as a referee, which was previously only based on watching matches on TV and reading rule books. It was in 2010 when South African Rugby Union (Saru) officials saw him in action at Miki Yili Stadium, and since then he has been under the wing of Saru. He is currently part of the South African Rugby Referee Academy squad and works under John Klaas, the regional assessor.
Ngcese currently referees in the Grand Challenge which is the provincial first league, and recently refereed the Super League A 1st reserves match between Durbanville and Hamilton in Cape Town.
