Kerry Victor Joseph Fitzgerald (c. 1948 – 18 December 1991) was an Australian
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
referee
A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
best known for officiating in the
1987 Rugby World Cup Final, the first ever Rugby World Cup final.
Refereeing career
Fitzgerald took up refereeing in 1977, making his international debut in 1984 in a match between New Zealand and Fiji in Suva.
For the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 he was one of two Australian referees selected. Fitzgerald sent off Welsh player
Huw Richards
Huw David Richards (born 9 October 1960) is a former Welsh and Neath RFC rugby union player. He played in the 1987 Rugby World Cup as a lock and became the first player to receive a red card in a Rugby World Cup tournament.
Biography
Richards w ...
after he had been knocked unconscious during a semifinal between New Zealand and Wales. He went on to referee the
World Cup Final.
He went on to referee 26 tests, including the England-Scotland Rugby World Cup Semi-final in 1991, just 6 weeks before his death.
Death
Fitzgerald collapsed and died in his office on 18 December 1991.
References
1991 deaths
Australian rugby union referees
Year of birth uncertain
1948 births
Rugby World Cup referees
ARU referees
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