Patric Denis O'Brien (born 19 July 1959), commonly known as Paddy O'Brien, is a New Zealand international

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, and former head of the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

's Referee Board. He was born in

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

, New Zealand. He played his rugby as a full back and wing for

at Under 18 and B level, as well as Sevens, between 1976 and 1984.

Refereeing career

O'Brien began refereeing with the Southland Referees Association in 1984 and combined that with 17 years in the

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

before turning professional in 1996 with his first game in the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

. He took charge of his first test match on 23 October 1994 with the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

qualifier between

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, which Korea won 28–17. He also officiated matches of the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

, including the deciding third test on their 2001 tour to Australia. He became New Zealand's most capped

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

official on 29 March 2003 when he officiated the Six Nations encounter between

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for his 27th test, taking him past Dave Bishop's record. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, O'Brien was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to rugby as a referee.

IRB administration

In 2007, O'Brien, in his capacity as

Chief of Officials, defended criticism of the refereeing of

Wayne Barnes Wayne Barnes (born 20 April 1979) is an English international rugby union referee and barrister. He is a regular referee in the English Premiership, and has refereed games in the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. At international level ...

in the France versus New Zealand quarterfinal. Commenting on death threats made against Barnes he said "I think it's a disgrace and people have to grow up." He also accused the coach of the United States team,

Peter Thorburn Peter Robert Tyler Thorburn (19 March 1939 – 26 January 2021) was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach. He played his entire career as a number eight for from 1965 to 1970. He became a coach after his playing career ended, coachin ...

, of lying when Thorburn stated that there had been a pre-tournament directive that touch judges should not interfere in issues like forward passes. O'Brien later apologized to Thorburn. In November 2009, O'Brien publicly apologized to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

with regards to the refereeing performance of

Stuart Dickinson Stuart Dickinson (born 19 July 1968) is an Australian former Rugby union referee. Dickinson has refereed in many rugby competitions, including the Rugby World Cup, Tri Nations, Six Nations, international friendlies, Super 12/14/15, and Shute ...

during an international match against

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. He subsequently issued a public apology to both Dickinson and the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

for his breach of IRB protocol in making his comments public rather than going through official channels for commenting on referee performance. During the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

O'Brien publicly defended referee Alain Rolland's decision to issue Captain

Sam Warburton Sam Kennedy-Warburton, OBE MStJ (born 5 October 1988), commonly known as Sam Warburton, is a Welsh former international rugby union player. Warburton played rugby for Cardiff Rugby and was first capped for Wales in 2009. He usually played as ...

a straight red card during their semi final match against France stating "Alain Rolland's decision to issue a red card was absolutely correct in law and in keeping with the clear instructions that match officials have received in recent years regarding dangerous tackling." In May 2012 he was released as head of the Referee Board and substituted by a commission of four members

Political career

O'Brien was elected to the

Invercargill Licensing Trust The Invercargill Licensing Trust, (ILT), is a licensing trust in the city of Invercargill in New Zealand. It has a monopoly on the development of premises licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages, and associated accommodation in the city; and u ...

(ILT) in 2016 and re-elected in 2019, topping the poll both times. He was speculated as a potential candidate in the

2019 Invercargill mayoral election The 2019 Invercargill mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections that were held on 12 October 2019 to elect the Mayor of Invercargill. Incumbent mayor Tim Shadbolt was re-elected to his ninth term with a reduced majority. Key ...

but decided against it while not ruling out the possibility of a future mayoral run. Following the resignation of deputy mayor Toni Biddle from the

Invercargill City Council Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

, O'Brien announced his intent to contest the resulting by-election. On 3 December he pulled out of the race. In 2022, he was re-elected to the ILT, topping the poll once again. He was subsequently appointed president, replacing the retiring Alan Dennis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Paddy 1959 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand rugby union referees New Zealand police officers New Zealand people of Irish descent Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit World Rugby Awards winners Rugby World Cup referees Super Rugby referees Six Nations Championship referees The Rugby Championship referees Invercargill Licensing Trust Board members