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Rugby Union2 min read

Record breaking rugby referee didn't take no for an answer

New Zealand rugby referee Maggie Cogger-Orr took up the game because someone told her she wouldn't be able to play, 20 years later she is now one of the most respected people in the sport.
Record breaking rugby referee didn't take no for an answer

Being told she couldn't play rugby was all the motivation Maggie Cogger-Orr needed.

Two decades later, the New Zealand referee has set a record for the most Test matches officiated by a New Zealand woman, taking charge of her 33rd at the weekend.

"It's pretty crazy to be here already," Cogger-Orr told Morning Report after reaching the milestone in Saturday's WXV Global series game between Australia and Scotland in Sydney.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Cogger-Orr played ice hockey growing up before starting boys gridiron football.

It wasn't long before she was identified by her high school rugby programme and was soon playing fifteen aside, attracted by the physical nature of the sport.

"I think mostly because someone must have said that I wouldn't be able to play. I didn't really take no for an answer very well, so I just decided I was gonna do that."

The 34-year-old said unlike American football where the coaches decide all the plays, she loved the fact that rugby players get to make their own decisions on the field.

"It's so fast, I just immediately was like this is amazing to watch. I just never looked back."

Maggie Cogger-Orr previously represented Canada at age-group level.

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She made the Canadian under-20 team but when her playing career stalled after moving to New Zealand in 2014 she decided to get into refereeing.

Cogger-Orr debuted in the Farah Palmer Cup in 2017 and officiated her first Test match in 2022 when she took control of a Six Nations women's game.

She also controls men's provincial games in New Zealand.

Cogger-Orr said the secret to being a good referee is to not be noticed.

"As much as people maybe don't believe that always, we are really trying to go under the radar and trying to make sure that whatever we do, it's to let the players sort of shine. Yet it's a balancing act, because the rules are the rules.

Cogger-Orr's next match in charge will be the second Test between Australia and Scotland in Canberra on Friday.

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It was published on October 19, 2026 and last updated on October 20, 2026. The time of the story is shown in your own time zone on the page.

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