Former international netball umpire Jono Bredin refereed the match between South Canterbury and North Otago in Timaru on Saturday while Stu Curran was the man in the middle when Mid Canterbury played Horowhenua-Kapiti in Ashburton.
Bredin said it was a great experience and one he thoroughly enjoyed.
''I loved it. It was a cracker of a day up in Timaru and both sides really wanted to play a good game,'' he said.
''I was pretty happy with how it went and for my first hit-out at this level. But I am still tough on myself and there are always things to work on.''
He felt he had improved over the past year. It was about getting games under the belt and being more comfortable about what the players were trying to achieve on the field, he said.
Bredin (34) was more comfortable in netball but that was because he had done it more. Still a qualified umpire he was concentrating on rugby at the moment. His goal was to go as far as possible and continue to work hard on his game.
Curran (24) played rugby when growing up but had broken his ankle playing at school at Lindisfarne College in Hawke's Bay.
When he came back from the injury, he was committed to study but still wanted to be involved in the game.
A final-year medical student, Curran started serious refereeing in Dunedin and has climbed the ranks.
''I'm a much better referee than a player. I really like how it is something completely different for me.
I'm full-on into university during the week so it is nice to get out there on a Saturday and do something completely different. You're getting involved with different people, a different environment,'' he said.
He said being a referee was about being well planned and prepared for the game and then having to tailor that plan to how the game played out.
''It's about being able to adapt to that plan given what you face on the day, the relationships with players, being a team of three and four guys to referee.''
He paid tribute to all the help he had in Dunedin with his refereeing. He will finish his studies at the end of the year and has a job in Palmerston North next year, returning near to the family home in Dannevirke.
Bredin is in Levin on Saturday controlling Horowhenua-Kapiti versus the West Coast while Curran will be at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday night as North Otago takes on Wairarapa-Bush.