As a top international rugby referee, Chris White was lucky enough to travel all over the globe for a good number of years, but while he was clocking up the air miles the one thing he never forgot was his Cheltenham roots.

White is a born and bred Cheltenham man and is happy to talk up the town at any given opportunity, so much so that he’d make a great ambassador for the town. Now there’s a thought!

When The Local Answer called, he spoke enthusiastically about all things Cheltenham – with the first day of this year’s Cheltenham Cricket Festival on Monday 16th July of particular interest.

That’s the start of a four-day game against Sussex and it also just happens to be his and twin Andy’s 55th birthday. “There will be about 40 of us there, probably in the Charlton Kings tent. Even Gloucestershire can make a game last a day,” he laughed.

He’ll also tell you how he can’t wait to referee an under-13 or under-14 rugby game on the new RFU-funded artificial grass pitch at Cheltenham Tigers.

“I’m hoping to run out on the new pitch in September,” he said. “I think the pitch and the new facilities at the club will change the landscape for rugby in the area.”

And if you weren’t convinced about his love of all things Cheltenham, he’ll tell you of his pride at getting on the pitch at Whaddon Road, home of Cheltenham Football Club, a couple of months ago.

“I refereed 20 minutes of the charity game between the Cheltenham Legends XI and an AP McCoy’s Jockeys XI at the end of April,” he said. “It was amazing, I’d never been on the pitch before, not even when we beat Yeovil to win promotion to the Football League!

“Mind you, I was shattered. The Legends XI had two teams of players – Damian Spencer, Steve Book, Keith Knight, Mark Yates; yes, I was on the pitch with them! – and the jockeys had some good players too.

“They were proper footballers and just passed and passed the ball. I was definitely out of my comfort zone. I did the first 20 minutes of the second half and I think there were only four stoppages. There was no way I was going to stay on, I was absolutely blowing.”

That didn’t matter a jot of course because White had realised a lifetime’s ambition right on his doorstep.

“I always remember in the lead up to the 2003 World Cup semi-final between Australia and New Zealand in Australia,” he said. “Andy rang me up and said, ‘Remember where you’ve come from. We’ve got our own rugby history in Cheltenham. Cheltenham are our club and all the other clubs and rugby people’. I always remember that and it certainly made an impression on me.”

White is still heavily involved with Cheltenham Tigers Rugby Club and he’s well known in cricket and football circles around the town too having played for Cheltenham Cricket Club for many years and been a supporter of the football club since the age of 11.

White’s love of all things Cheltenham pretty much covered all sports but although he was a football fan it was rugby and cricket that really grabbed him at a young age and it was in the oval ball game that he was to make his name.

“I was born into it because my father Bob had played rugby for Cheltenham in the war years,” White said. “My cousin, who was also called Bob, played for Gloucester in the centre, and my brother Kim, who was 10 years older than me, played for Cheltenham.

“There’s a Cheltenham Grammar School team picture from 1942/43 with my dad in it. When I was seven, eight, nine, I’d go with my dad and brother Andy to watch Kim play. From an early age, watching rugby was what we did.

“If you look at the history, people always talk about Gloucester but Cheltenham has a very proud rugby history.

“I recently refereed in a tournament that involved four of the oldest rugby schools and Cheltenham College were one of them.”

White promotes sport in Cheltenham as often as he can and while he enjoyed watching rugby back in the day, like all youngsters he wanted to play as well.

“My first game was at Lynworth Primary School,” he said. “My dad was deputy head there and we had one old leather ball for the whole school.

“Then when Cheltenham formed the minis and juniors section we joined them and Andy and I played in the first ever game at Stow in September 1974.

“We both played in the backs and we won, remarkably!”

The twins, unsurprisingly, played a lot of sport together in those early years although once they went to Cheltenham Grammar School it was Andy who edged ahead in the pecking order.

“I was captain of the B team,” said Chris, “Andy was in the A team.”

Chris was desperate to play in the first team, of course, but as things turned out those years were to prove a great learning curve for the career that followed because when he didn’t have a game he used to touch judge.

His dad had been a football referee so clearly there was something in the family genes that suggested a career with the whistle may follow.

“His claim to fame was that he touch judged an FA Cup tie involving Ipswich Town,” said Chris of his dad.

At this stage of his life, however, White still had ambitions as a player and he was a pretty decent player too. He was in the Gloucestershire Under-18 team – alongside Andy – and was invited down to Sidmouth for a South West trial.

So how did it go?

“They picked the entire Gloucestershire back line except me,” he said. “They told me I was too like my brother which is the first example of twinism I can remember!”

Andy was later involved in an England Under-18 trial and Chris added: “He was also Midlands Young Cricketer of the Year. Mind you, we only had one bat and I had to wait for him to get out!”

It was only natural that the twins went on to play senior rugby for Cheltenham together and those were in the days when the club had a pretty formidable fixture list.

“We were playing Northampton, Bristol, Saracens, Gloucester, Nottingham, Bath, and for light relief we’d go over the border into Wales,” laughed White.

Wales was to play a big part in White’s post-school years because that’s where he headed to further his education – Swansea University to be precise – where he enjoyed four hugely successful years.

“I played 20-odd games for the 1st XV and played cricket for the Welsh Universities, I was captain of the University as well,” he said.

It was also where he did his first ever bit of rugby coaching.

“It was 1983 and I was in a bar and these three girls, friends of mine, came up to me – yes it did happen!” he laughed. “They said, ‘Chris, we want someone to coach us rugby and would you be able to help?’. I thought about if for three seconds and then said ‘Yes!’.”

And a very good decision it was too – not just because of what he learned as a coach – but because his wife-to-be Lynne was in the squad!

He credits that time spent coaching on giving him a greater understanding of the game – an understanding that stood him in very good stead in years to come as he established himself in many people’s eyes as the number one referee in the world.

And to be fair his coaching CV is pretty good too.

“The girls played their first game at Aberystwyth,” he recalled. “I reffed the game and we played the whole game in our own 22 but they tackled their hearts out.

“We actually got the to the UAU Cup final although we unfortunately lost 3-0.”

And while he was clearly showing he had a decent knowledge of the game of rugby, he was also proving he could practise what he preached because by now he had made his 1st XV debut for Cheltenham.

“It was against Bristol and I was a late call-up,” said White. “I was 21 and they had Alan Morley and Richard Harding in their side as well as John Carr in the centre who was enormous!”

It was a big step up from anything White had previously been used to.

“I remember the ball falling in front of me,” he said. “I looked at it and thought I’d better pick it up and then there was this collision of bodies and the ball had gone.

“It was at the Prince of Wales Stadium and it was 6-6 and I also remember in the dying moments the ball came out to me in front of the posts but I fluffed the chance!”

Despite that uncertain start, White was a regular in the Cheltenham side for two seasons and played on and off until injury forced him to stop playing when he was 27.

“It was a dream to play at Cheltenham,” he said. “It was hard work but I was very, very lucky to play when I did because, as with the coaching, it definitely helped when I became a full-time referee.

“I loved the social side, I loved playing for a team and I just loved playing.

“Players now have a different experience. It’s so physical, I wouldn’t last five minutes. I remember in that first game against Bristol and John Carr hurtling towards me.

“I closed my eyes! I managed to stop him but those types of tackles are what it’s like all the time today.”

So how would White describe himself as a player?

“I was an inside centre, so I was the one they missed out,” he laughed. “I would get the ball and move it really quickly. In those days the aim was to get the ball to the wing as quickly as possible. Looking back, I could always read a game.”

By the time White had taken out his gumshield for the final time, he had already become a decent referee having taken charge of some 200-odd games mainly around the county.

And he can recall his first game almost like it was yesterday.

“I had a county trial so I wasn’t allowed to play in a school match,” he said, “so Mike Edwards asked me if I’d referee Cheltenham Saracens 3rds against Evesham. The game was at the Burrows so I borrowed my dad’s whistle and that was the start.”

And although he was only 17, White said that it wasn’t really a surprise that he said ‘yes’ so readily to taking charge of players who in some cases were twice as old as him and certainly twice his size.

“When you talk to people who become referees, quite often there is something in their background that suggests it might happen,” explained White. “Dad refereed in local football so there was a refereeing background.

“We’d go to games where dad was watching and if the referee gave an offside decision we’d say, ‘What was that dad?’.”

And White’s first game of rugby as the man in the middle certainly went okay.

“It was helped by the fact that I gave a dodgy penalty at the end to Cheltenham Saracens 3rd XV and they won 15-12,” he laughed. “Everyone was happy, even the two men and the dog who were watching!

“I went back to the clubhouse and they all kept buying me beer. And before I left they said, ‘And here’s your £2 for expenses’.

“I couldn’t believe it so I had a bag of chips on the way home as well!”

The following week he was asked to take charge of Saracens’ 4th XV fixture against Cheltenham North and White recalled: “The North had a formidable team and won comfortably.

“The Saracens were sensible enough to know not to annoy them!”

His refereeing career was up and running and game number three was at the old Athletic Ground, the ground that is so missed by the Cheltenham rugby fraternity of that era.

“I think it was the last game to be played there,” White said. “It was a special game between Cheltenham under-15s or 16s against St Benedict’s School.

“They’d been knocking down the changing rooms and there were bricks, dust and pieces of wood everywhere.”

White was also lucky enough to have played at the ground – he helped Cheltenham Saracens 2nds defeat Cheltenham North 2nds 6-3 in the Cheltenham Combination Junior Cup final – and says “that was a great night”.

And once his playing days were over he was to have many great nights as a referee too.

“It was a case of right place, right time,” he says modestly. “When I retired from playing there were no young referees about, maybe one. I’d played at a decent level and the door was always open.”

His first top-level game was in 1994 between Harlequins and West Hartlepool and he soon became a familiar figure on the top-level rugby circuit.

“The big change happened in 1999 when the RFU decided they wanted professional referees,” said White. “I was 35 at the time and I was told that I was one of the ones they wanted to go professional.

“I was teaching at Prestbury St Mary and had three kids, if I wanted to continue refereeing at the highest level I had no choice.”

It was absolutely the right decision of course and he was one of the officials for the 1999 World Cup.

“I was a touch judge for the semi-final between Australia and South Africa and I made an offside call that took the game into extra-time,” said White. “Derek Bevan looked hard at me but went with me!”

White, of course, was to officiate at two more World Cups, including Down Under in 2003 when England were crowned champions.

By now White was at the very top of his game with only supporters of Andre Watson and Paddy O’Brien questioning his right to be considered number one.

He took charge of the never-to-be-forgotten semi-final between Australia and New Zealand and would surely have been given the final had Jonny Wilkinson and co not overcome France in the other semi.

“I always say that it was far more important that England played in – and won – that final than me refereeing it,” said White.

Australia may have come off second best in the final but White will always remember the day they beat New Zealand to reach the showpiece occasion.

“Eddie Jones and the Australia team just decided to attack and New Zealand had no plan B,” said White, who was happy to join in the celebrations once England had qualified for the final.

“Three days after the semi-final I got asked to do the 3rd/4th play-off,” he said. “That was a bit of a surprise! I don’t think New Zealand would have been allowed home if they’d lost that one.”

Home was something White hadn’t seen for the best part of two months come the end of that World Cup.

“It can be tough because you’re away for a long time,” he admitted. “People think referees just turn up in a puff of smoke at 3pm. There’s an awful lot of work that goes on behind the scenes.”

And White was away more than most because, like fellow Gloucestershire referee Wayne Barnes today, he was given so many top matches.

While the 2003 World Cup semi-final was clearly massive, White also remembers the 2006 European Cup final between Munster and Biarritz in Cardiff in 2006.

“There was an incredible atmosphere, it was deafening and I refereed on instinct,” he said. “It was the first time that Munster won the competition.

“Then there was the 2005 Wales Grand Slam against Ireland in Cardiff, that was an epic day.”

Check the stats and you’ll see that White ticked as many boxes as a referee as the likes of Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio ticked as players.

As well as his three World Cups, he took charge of 50 Tests, three European Champions Cup finals, a European Challenge Cup final, two Celtic league finals and 190 Premiership games.

So what goes into making a top referee?

“You need to be firm, fair and decisive,” said White. “Players want someone who speaks to them properly, is consistent and who isn’t going to change their mind.

“That means being able to communicate with people and manage them, and for that you need to have a game understanding and a feel for what is right and wrong.

“It’s a bit different today because you’ve got all the video technology. When I started if a team were attacking and were five metres from the line and I couldn’t see the ball I’d be panicking like mad. That’s why I’m so grey now!

“The other difference is that there is a lot less foul play but video technology means that today’s referees have a lot of other things to consider as well.”

White’s many years of watching, playing, coaching and refereeing rugby, as well as watching his dad referee, have given him plenty of experience to fall back on.

And these days he is passing on that experience to the next generation of rugby referees through his job as the RFU’s national referee academy manager.

It’s a job that covers many facets but one of his main tasks is to discover and nurture talented referees and bring them up to Premiership standard.

Karl Dickson, Christophe Ridley and Matt Carley have all come through in recent times with Carley and Ridley benefitting from the Referee Scholarship Scheme which White established at the University of Gloucestershire some 10 or 11 years ago.

“The scheme has grown to include some 15 referees,” said White with pride. “Eight or nine rugby referees, six football referees and a netball and boccia referee.”

White’s RFU role also sees him spending plenty of time up at Hartpury where so much rugby is played these days and he said: “It’s a perfect job although your mind is going at it seven days a week.

“It’s a bit like an obsession, you have to step away from it occasionally. I’ve just been studying 127 scrums using an eye tracker!”

Part of that release comes through his other great sporting love – cricket. These days he’s playing for Stanway and he was very proud to have batted for 80 minutes recently for an unbeaten 35.

“That hadn’t happened for a while,” he laughed. “The next day I refereed 20 minutes at Wayne Barnes’ charity game at Lydney, I was in bits!”

He has no intention of hanging up his bat any time soon and as well as playing for Stanway he will also play for Gloucestershire Gipsies and the Lord’s Taverners this summer.

And when the summer is over, it will be back to the rugby of course.

“My ambition is to referee school and youth rugby next season,” he said. “I’m going to keep doing it for as long as I can and remain credible! I’ll hope to do it once every two or three weeks just to get it out of my system! And it reminds me of how difficult a job it can be!”

And it’s not just the physical side that is a concern these days to White when he referees, who took charge of his last top-level game in 2011.

“It takes a lot longer to get ready for games,” he chuckled. “I’ve got to get the contacts in, the ankles strapped up, the knees strapped up!”

But once on the pitch it’s all worthwhile, particularly for the up-and-coming rugby players who are lucky enough to be in his charge on any given afternoon.

He may be a bit slower but he’s still a very good referee, of course, and he’s living proof that nice guys can win.

‘Cheltenham ambassador Chris White’ has a good ring to it