Former Black Fern Rebecca Mahoney achieved a milestone for woman in rugby over the weekend when she became the first female referee to officiate a men's first-class game, but she admits she once thought it may have never been possible.
Mahoney, who played 16 matches for the Black Ferns before transitioning to refereeing, was put in charge of Saturday's Mitre 10 Heartland Championship match between Thames Valley and King Country.
"Thames Valley was a fantastic host union for me," she said.
"Just a nice, small, heartland union to get me my first game which was pretty special... the boys were good and it was a really good game."
The 35-year-old said she decided to take up the whistle after realising the women's game was growing.
"I'm really proud that I've achieved what I set out to achieve.
"Three years ago, I set the goal of wanting to referee men's first-class rugby and at the time, I wasn't sure if it was achievable.
"But I've had faith put in me and really enjoyed it."
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