Joy Neville (born on 24 July 1983) is a former Ireland women's rugby union international and a current rugby union referee. As a player, Neville represented Ireland at both the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and 2010 Women's Rugby World Cups. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Neville captained the first Ireland team to defeat . In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

she was also a member of the first Ireland women's team to win the Six Nations, Grand Slam and Triple Crown titles. After retiring as a player, Neville became a referee. She has taken charge of matches in the Women's Six Nations Championship, the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series and the Women's Rugby World Cup, including the 2017 final. In addition to refereeing women's rugby union, Neville has also achieved a number of firsts as a female referee in the men's game. In 2016 Neville served as an assistant referee for a European Rugby Challenge Cup game between

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and Bristol, making her the first woman to officiate in a professional European rugby match. In 2016, she became the first female referee to take charge of matches in the national leagues of Ireland, Wales and Italy as well as competitions such the

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009 ...

, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and the Pro14. After taking charge of a match in the latter competition, she also become the first woman to referee a top-level men's rugby union match in the United Kingdom. After

Alhambra Nievas Alhambra Nievas González (born 9 August 1983) is a former Spain women's rugby union international and a current rugby union referee. Nievas refereed the women's final at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In 2016 she also served as an assistant referee ...

, she also became the second woman to referee a men's international match when she took charge of a

2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference The 2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference is the third-level rugby union competition below the premier Championship and Trophy competitions. It is the second Conference under its new format. After Czech Republic was promoted to the Trophy and Ukraine r ...

match. In 2017 Neville was also named World Rugby Referee of the Year.

Family

Joy Neville grew up in the North Circular Road district of Limerick. She was raised in a sporting family and had four brothers. Her father, Ger Neville, played rugby union for

UL Bohemians UL Bohemian RFC is a rugby club based in Limerick, playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. It is affiliated with the University of Limerick. UL Bohemians are sponsored by UL Sport, Samurai Sports and HOMS Solicitors. The symbol of th ...

. In 2006–07 her brother, Paul, captained Garryowen to an All-Ireland League, All-Ireland Cup and Munster Senior Cup treble. He also played for Connacht and the Ireland national rugby sevens team.

Playing career

Early years

Neville attended Salesian Secondary School where she played various sports including basketball, squash, association football, badminton and field hockey. She initially concentrated on basketball and she was a member of a Salesian Secondary School basketball team that won an All-Ireland schools league title. Neville was 16 and working at a local leisure centre when a colleague encouraged her to try women's rugby union. She subsequently started playing for Shannon, who at the time were the only Limerick club with a women's team. In 2009 she switched to

and would also go one to represent

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, helping them win six Interprovincial titles.

Ireland international

Between

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

, Neville made 70 appearances for the Ireland women's national rugby union team. She captained the team during the

2009 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2009 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2009 RBS Women's 6 Nations, was the eighth series of the rugby union Women's Six Nations Championship, due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland. England comfor ...

, leading the Ireland women to their first win over France. Neville represented Ireland at both the

and 2010 Women's Rugby World Cups. In the 2010 tournament she scored four tries – two against the United States in a 22–12 win and two against Kazakhstan in a 37–3 win. She was also a member of the Ireland team that completed a Grand Slam and won the

2013 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2013 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2013 RBS Women's Six Nations, due to the tournament been sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 12th series of the annual women's rugby union competition. Matches were held in ...

. During her international career, Neville would also play for the

Ireland women's national rugby sevens team The Ireland women's national rugby sevens team participates in international competitions such as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Rugby Europe Women's Sevens and Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics. Unlike ...

Refereeing career

Early years

Between 2008 and 2012 Neville attended Limerick Institute of Technology where she completed a Bachelor's degree in social studies and social care. She also began to work as a director of rugby union at LIT, coaching both men's and women's team. After retiring as a player, Neville was approached by David McHugh, an IRFU referee performance officer, who invited her to become a referee. In December 2013 she took charge of her first game, an U15 friendly between St Munchin's College and CBC. She subsequently began refereeing

Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup The Munster Schools Senior Cup or Munster Senior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU. The inaugural Munster Schools Senior Cup took place in 1909 and, since then, Cork city's two ...

matches.

Women's competitions

By 2015 Neville was refereeing in the IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series. On 20 March 2016 Neville made her debut as an international referee when she took charge of a Women's Six Nations Championship between Wales and Italy. On 26 August 2017 Neville refereed the

2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match to determine the winner of the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup, played between reigning champions England women's national rugby union team, England and New Zealand women's national rugby ...

between New Zealand and England. She also served as a referee during the 2017–18 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

Men's competitions

On 20 October 2016 Neville served as an assistant referee for a European Rugby Challenge Cup game between

and Bristol, making her the first woman to ever officiate in a professional European rugby match. On 12 November 2016 Neville became the first woman to take charge of an All-Ireland League match when she refereed a game between Cork Constitution and Clontarf. On 23 September 2017 Neville became the first woman to referee an Excellence match when she took charge of a fixture between Petrarca and Lazio. She had previously referee in the Serie A. In October 2017, together with Andrew Brace, George Clancy and John Lacey, Neville was one of seven referees offered professional contracts by the IRFU. On 28 October 2017 Neville refereed a Rugby Europe Conference match between Norway and Denmark. This saw her become the second women, after

, to referee a men's international match. Nievas had refereed another match in the same competition two weeks earlier. On 5 November 2017, Neville became the first woman to referee a Welsh Premier Division match when she took charge of a fixture between Pontypridd and

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...

. On 15 December 2017 Neville became the first woman to referee a European Rugby Challenge Cup match when she took charge of a 2017–18 pool stage fixture between Bordeaux-Bègles and

Enisei-STM Yenisey-STM Rugby Club is a Russian rugby union club founded in 1975. It is one of the two powerful Krasnoyarsk clubs, the other being their cross town rivals Krasny Yar. They participate in the Professional Rugby League, the premier rugby cham ...

. This also saw Neville become the first women to referee a professional European rugby union match. In November 2017, Neville became only the second woman to win World Rugby Referee of the Year, after

, who won in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. On 9 February 2018 Neville became the first woman to referee a Pro14 match when she took charge of a 2017–18 fixture between Ulster and Southern Kings. This also saw Neville become the first women to referee a top-level men's rugby union match in the United Kingdom. Neville became the first female television match official (TMO) for a top-level men's rugby union test when she officiated the Wales- Georgia test in the Autumn Nations Cup on 21 November 2020. She was scheduled to also be the TMO for the Scotland-

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

game a week later, however this game was cancelled due to multiple COVID-19 cases in Fiji's team. Neville continued her TMO officiating of top-level men's rugby union tests and became the first female TMO in the men's

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

when she officiated three games ( England - Scotland, England - Italy, and England - France) in the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

season.Refereeing Appointments Announced for 2021 Guinness Six Nations
(23 December 2020). Six Nations Rugby.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021

Personal life

Neville is openly gay. On 21 June 2015 she married her partner Simona Coppola, who is also from Limerick. Coppola works as a

project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

for Intel. Neville has stated in interview that she is proud to represent the first country to pass a same-sex marriage referendum.

Honours

; Ireland * Women's Six Nations Championship **''Winners'':

* Grand Slam **''Winners'': 2013 * Triple Crown **''Winners'':

;

* IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series **''Winners'': ? 6 ;Individual * World Rugby Referee of the Year ** 2017 * Munster Rugby Referee of the Year ** 2017 * People of the Year Awards – Sportsperson of the Year ** 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, Joy 1983 births Living people Irish female rugby union players Ireland women's international rugby union players Ireland international women's rugby sevens players Shannon RFC players UL Bohemians R.F.C. players Munster Rugby women's players Rugby union players from Limerick (city) Irish rugby union referees Female rugby union referees EPCR Challenge Cup referees Irish rugby union coaches Irish LGBT sportspeople IRFU referees United Rugby Championship referees Lesbian sportswomen LGBT rugby union players Irish women referees and umpires