Representatives from six Unions of the Confederation of African Rugby have attended a Judicial workshop, hosted by IRB Judicial Panel Chairman Tim Gresson during the ongoing IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2009 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Gresson, responsible for the appointment process, management and training of all Judicial personnel for all IRB tournaments and major internationals, hosts these workshops around the world ensuring that Judicial Officers are developed and they in turn can train personnel from within their own countries.

"The goal was to ensure that there was complete understanding of the IRB Judicial programme. Pleasingly, those who attended were very enthusiastic and the meetings had a very positive outcome with the training of more Judicial personnel," said Gresson.

The IRB Judicial Panel includes Citing Commissioners, Judicial Officers or Chairman of Judicial committees, including appeal committees. They have responsibility for on-field foul play, which can arise either from ordering off or citings, and also have responsibility for off-field misconduct and other areas of the Game such as issues like eligibility, anti-doping and availability of players.

The IRB has a few workshops every year around the world, not only involving Tier One Unions, but those participating in all the IRB competitions. They are designed to develop the game worldwide as "the development of Judicial personnel from around the world is an important component."

"The IRB Judicial System is specifically designed for the unique characteristics of Rugby, and it is important that all personnel across the globe are in a position to execute it in the same way," added Gresson.

The six Unions with representatives at the workshop were Kenya, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Botswana and Reunion.