Chris Hart will bring up his 100th first-class game as a TMO this weekend.
He is in the hot seat when Canterbury host Taranaki in an NPC game in Rangiora.
The Otago referee is thrilled about the milestone and rather happy he will bring up the ton in Rangiora.
The former inside back played 279 premier games for the Rangiora club.
"I’m pretty stoked about it, to be honest," he said.
Hart made his first-class debut nine years ago in Invercargill. Southland were hosting Bay of Plenty in an NPC game.
His Super Rugby debut came in 2017. The Highlanders beat the Rebels 51-12. And two years ago he was selected as the TMO for the All Blacks-Fiji test in Dunedin. That was a highlight.
But he laughed off any suggestion all you do as the TMO is sit up in the box while people serve you snacks.
"It is sort of evolving all the time," he said.
"But it is about making sure we have not missed anything in the lead-up to a try."
Everybody has a different style. Some will examine the footage with forensic zeal looking for an infringement.
"I’m probably a little bit different to other TMOs in that I try not to go searching for stuff," he said.
"I let things come to me. Sometimes I get it right but sometimes I get bagged for not doing enough.
"Some coaches want everything picked up and others don’t. It is about finding the balance between what is good for the game and what is good for the spectators.
"[People] want to see a game not the TMO interfering."
It really can be a thankless task.
Hart has made a lot of good decisions during his tenure. But it is the "stinkers" that never relinquish their grasp on the memory.
"Tony Ensor. Otago versus Bay of Plenty. I awarded a try that on any other day was not a try. It was in the right-hand corner. He dropped the ball from about 10 foot and I awarded it.
"Stephen from Dunedin bailed me up about it and I had nothing because he was right.
"You just have to put it down to experience. But that would have to go down as one of my all time stinkers."
Hart will mark the milestone by celebrating with some old rugby friends, and his mother and father will attend the game.
"I’ll probably have a couple of quiet beers and be quite proud of myself. I’m quietly chuffed to have got this far."
