Tara Jones: History awaits first woman to referee a men’s Super League game

Born in 1996, the year the Super League was created, Tara Jones will make history on Saturday as the first woman to referee a men's game in the league when Wigan Warriors host Huddersfield Giants, live on Sky Sports.

From first picking up the whistle due to being 'stubborn' and wanting to be involved in the sport she loved, to making history in the same week she received her MBE, Jones' journey has been full of tribulations.

Nothing, however, was going to stop her from following her love for the sport, even when the sport didn't love her.

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"I know 12-year-old me would be very proud," she said.

"When I first took up the whistle, it was because opportunities for playing were few and far between.

"I played at a boys' team in Warrington but had to quit there when I was 12 and then went into officiating.

"It was something I was doing as a stubborn young child, being told I couldn't be involved in the sport that I love.

"Back then, when I took up the whistle, did I think I was going to go to the top, make it my full-time job, and be the first woman to referee a men's Super League game? No, I didn't.

"But as time went on, I really knew that it was my ambition."

Jones found out she would be making her Super League debut while travelling down to Windsor to receive her MBE for services to rugby league, as a referee, having been named in the New Year's Honours list.

The former England international retired from playing just last year and has since established herself as a referee, a decision she is now certain was the right call.

"At the time I was a bit like 'am I doing the right thing, am I not'," Jones added.

"You never know if your decision is going to pay off or not, and if it doesn't in the long run then you may look back with some regrets.

"But I know now I have absolutely no regrets and I made that decision at the right time.

"So while I could have carried on playing physically, age-wise, everything, my next ambition in my career was to go and referee men's Super League at the top level.

"It's definitely made 18 years of refereeing worth it."

2026 Super League - key dates and what to look out for

• Super League's 30th birthday: Thu Mar 26: Castleford Tigers v Bradford Bulls, 8pm (Sky Sports)
• Rivals Round: April 3-April 5
• Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6:30 UK (Sky Sports)
• Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
• Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
• Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
• Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
• Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.

Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+