Steve Walsh (rugby)

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Steve Walsh (born on 28 March 1972) is a rugby union referee from New Zealand. He lives in the North Harbour area, near the city of Auckland.

Walsh is unusual because he only played provincial age grade rugby until the age of 13, due to a spinal injury blamed on a birth deformity. He decided to try his hand at refereeing, and as a result became a successful top level referee at a much younger age than is typical for such a challenging role.

His age is often quoted as a problem, with many people claiming that he is too casual with players, and that he can be petulant and immature as a result. To date he has been suspended twice by the International Rugby Board for behavioural problems. The first incident was an altercation at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where he was involved in a water fight with England fitness coach Dave Reddin. The second was during the 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand when he exchanged profanities with Irish player Shane Horgan.

His style of refereeing often leads to open, fast, flowing games, and despite the occasional outburst his standard of officiating is still somehow very highly regarded by some pundits (mainly in New Zealand), and most importantly by the referee evaluators from the IRB.