Ian Roger Vanderfield AO OBE (1928 – 25 September 2008) was an Australian doctor, and a

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 administrator. Vanderfield refereed over 1200 games, including 32

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (association football) ...

and internationals.

Medical career

A doctor by profession, Vanderfield graduated from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in 1952 and was a member of the Faculty of Medicine from 1973 to 1991. He was the Chief Medical Superintendent of Northern Sydney Area Health Service. Vanderfield co-wrote the centenary history of Sydney's

Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney and has over 600 beds. It is the prin ...

. He was also the hospital's Honorary Archivist.

Rugby achievements

In the 1980s, Vanderfield was President of the

New South Wales Rugby Union The New South Wales Rugby Union, or NSWRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within Australia it is considered t ...

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 ...

. As chairman 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 ...

Vanderfield was instrumental in establishing the first

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 ...

. The Australia and New Zealand Rugby Unions had launched a joint proposal to introduce a World Cup. There was reluctance from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Vanderfield flew to South Africa at his own expense and convinced

SARU The South African Rugby Union (SARU) is the governing body for rugby union in South Africa and is affiliated to World Rugby. It was established in 1992 as the South African Rugby Football Union, from the merger of the South African Rugby Board a ...

not to vote against the proposal. South Africa abstained and other unions came on board. Eventually the proposal was adopted by a vote of eight to six.

Honours

Vanderfield was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

, " r services to medicine and sport". He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in the

2006 Australia Day Honours The 2006 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2006 by the Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey. The Austr ...

for service to the community through the delivery of health care services at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, and to Rugby Union football. Vanderfield was elected a life member of numerous Rugby bodies. On 24 October 2011, he was posthumously inducted into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

for his role in the creation of the Rugby World Cup. The Vanderfield Building at Royal North Shore Hospital is named after him.

Trophy donor

The B.A.R Trophy was presented by three leading Sydney rugby union referees, H.B.(Bernie) Freeman, A.T.(Arthur) Tierney and I.R.(Roger) Vanderfield, who travelled to Canberra regularly during the 1950s to conduct examinations for referees. The trophy is an engraved pewter mug presented each year to the most improved referee of the Australian Capital Territory Rugby Referees Association. The award is intended to encourage ACT referees to better themselves and to express the gratitude of the donors for the hospitality and friendship extended to them by the members.

References

Obituary

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderfield, Roger 1928 births 2008 deaths Australian rugby union referees Australian healthcare managers World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney ARU referees