Page 16 - Rugby League World (February 2020)
P. 16
PHIL BENTHAM
CHRIS KENDALL (LEFT)
ORIENTEERING IN THE
LAKE DISTRICT
A typical week for Kendall in pre-season involves guilty of doing long endurance stuff but it's now more
four gym sessions at Kirke's gym in Headingley, several short burst stuff."
office sessions discussing policy and two field sessions. Kendall's rise through the ranks has been meteoric.
The field sessions include conditioning and skill Only a few years into his career as an elite-group referee,
sessions resulting in the refs being tested on their he officiated at Wembley in the 1895 Cup Final, at Old
knowledge of policy and other aspects of refereeing Trafford in the Grand Final and travelled to the Southern
under fatigue to replicate a game situation. Hemisphere to officiate international Test matches
Meanwhile, Kirke has been tasked with not only in 2019. But what has inspired such progress? Kendall
improving a referee's general fitness but their overall himself puts it down to experience and working hard.
strength and even their aesthetic look. "You need a really strong base to go out and referee
"Ian has his own style," Bentham adds. “He's very major Finals and major games. Whilst in 2018, I was
quietly spoken but he gets work done by the lads. He's disappointed not to be refereeing the Grand Final, when
working on different things with them. Not just running I look back now, with time to reflect, I know I wasn't
fitness but all-over body fitness. ready to referee that game. I didn't have a strong enough
"What he wants is an overall strength and an overall base and didn't have those experiences.
body image so aesthetically they look better. There's no "So, I knew in that off-season, I had to bridge the gap
doubt they can run. We're trying to improve running in other ways. It was a light bulb moment. Heading into
styles, agility, speed off the mark and all the things that 2019, I worked myself into the ground. I wanted to be
will help them during the game rather than just being a the hardest worker in the room. That included training
fit person." and matches, reviewing, learning. I wanted to be the
Kendall is sure that in his time working with the workhouse of the elite group.
referees, Kirke has been surprised at the level of fitness "You can generally get through Super League matches
of his team. working hard. To take that next step, refereeing Grand
"Kirky's probably said it himself that he was very Finals and international Test matches, it takes that little
surprised, when he transitioned into working for us, extra ten percent. You have to have the bit between your
how fit we were. He was doing sessions with us that teeth and from day one of pre-season, set yourself a
he'd done with Leeds in previous years and he was quite target and work hard to nail it."
shocked at the results he was getting back. Bentham agrees with Kendall but points out there
"It's a very hard-working group and it's a very fit is more to Kendall's game than fitness and work
group. One thing that we can't be faulted on is how ethic: "He's an ex player so he came from Huddersfield
we train as a group and the amount of stuff we do put academy into refereeing. He is very fit. We want the lads
in. It's a strong group and we do get round each other to aspire to that level. He'll probably win most training
when needs be to get us through different sessions and sessions closely followed by a couple of others.
different things. "But the large part of the job is whether you can deal
"Kirky transitioned us into more weights stuff and with it mentally. Are you a good communicator on the
more of how we look and how we look travelling. We've pitch? If he didn't have those then his fitness wouldn't
done a lot of work on sprinting. In the past, we've been apply. His fitness is a plus and aesthetically looking
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