Keith Lawrence, of Wellington
Keith Lawrence received the Insignia of an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby. Mr Lawrence’s name is synonymous with national and international rugby refereeing. In a career spanning more than 40 years and encompassing rugby’s amateur and professional eras, he has excelled as a referee and as an administrator. From 1996 he spent 12 years as Referee Manager for the New Zealand Rugby Union, where he was instrumental in the development of professional refereeing. For a large part of his time as a referee, he continued to work as Principal of Pukehina School near Te Puke, where he was also an active member of the community. He moved from this position to become a Visiting Teacher and Manager of the Special Education Service in Tauranga. Since 2008 Mr Lawrence has been the Referee Manager for the IRB Sevens World Series.