A Royal Navy Commander at HM Naval Base Clyde has recently been named Scottish Rugby Union’s Referee of the Year at the organisation’s annual awards dinner at the home of Scottish Rugby - Murrayfield.
Commander Dunx McClement, who is Head of the Naval Base’s Safety Assurance department, attended the prestigious awards on May 27.
Presenting him with his trophy was Sky TV’s Jo Wilson and SRU Council Member and World Rugby Referee Performance Reviewer Fergus Neil.
A referee of ten years, Dunx began by completing the Rugby Football Union level 1 course through the Navy.
The award caps a fantastic season for the Commander.
At the end of last season he was awarded his Navy Colours for refereeing the Army v RAF Inter Service fixture, becoming only the third naval referee in the history of the event to do so.
This was followed by a number of BT Scottish Premiership fixtures before he was included as one of the Navy’s referees for the International Defence Rugby Competition (IDRC) that was run in parallel with the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Dunx season went from strength to strength as he gained the reputation for fair but firm officiating across Scotland as well as an ability to quickly establish a rapport with players.
His performance led to him been given the honour of refereeing the IDRC Final between the Fijian Defence Force and the British Army at Twickenham Stoop on October 29, 2015.
Speaking about being chosen to referee the match, Dunx said: “The experience of taking charge of such an important fixture under the Stoop’s floodlights was incredible and one that will stay with me.
“To have the best seat in the house for such a hard fought final was fantastic.”
As part of the Scottish Rugby Union’s High Performance Group he has also officiated as an Assistant Referee for both the EPCR European Challenge Cup and Guinness Pro-12 competitions.
On taking the award Dunx said: “Noting the previous winners it is a truly incredible honour to be given the award.
“It is in no small part testament to the Royal Navy’s and more importantly my wife’s support.”
