Two New Zealand referees are set to head over to England for this year's Women's Rugby World Cup.
Maggie Cogger-Orr and Natarsha Ganley were two of 10 referees selected for the showpiece tournament, alongside six assistant referees and six television match officials.
Cogger-Orr, who officiated at the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand, said being selected is something referees ultimately work towards.
"To be part of one that's in England, back to sort of the home of rugby, and by all accounts is gonna be the biggest Women's Rugby World Cup ever, is really exciting," she told 1News ahead of her flight to Australia to officiate the Pacific Four Series match between the Wallaroos and the USA.
She said she was feeling "immense gratitude" to be chosen alongside some of the most capped female referees in the game - Sara Cox (England), Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Hollie Davidson (Scotland) and Aurélie Groizeleau (France).
"These are people that are legends of the refereeing space and legends of women's rugby in their own right," she said.
Cogger-Orr was appointed as NZ Rugby's women’s referee development manager in 2023, in an effort to increase women’s referee opportunities across the country.
"You know, by no means are we where we wanna be yet. Women's referees in New Zealand still represent a really small portion of our overall referee total," she said.
"It is something that we're continuously trying to work towards."
The World Cup gets underway on August 23, with the Black Ferns looking to make it a three-peat, after winning in 2017 and 2022.
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