Joy Neville

Life and work

The story behind the role.

Former international player who became a leading referee and television match official.

Joy Neville (born 24 July 1983) is a former Ireland women's rugby union international and rugby union referee. As a player, Neville represented Ireland at both the 2006 and 2010 Women's Rugby World Cups. In 2009 Neville captained the first Ireland team to defeat France. In 2013 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 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 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, she also became the second woman to referee a men's international match when she took charge of a 2017–18 Rugby Europe Conference match. In 2017 Neville was also named World Rugby Referee of the Year.

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