Aimee Barrett-Theron
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| Born | Aimee Patricia Barrett 27 June 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.71 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 71 kg (11 st 3 lb; 157 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Northlands Girls' High School, Durban | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aimee Patricia Barrett-Theron (née Barrett, born 27 June 1987) is a South African rugby union former player, and currently a referee on South Africa's Premier Panel.[1]
Playing career
[edit]She could play as a fullback, centre or fly-half and played in various forms of the game – 15-a-side rugby union, rugby sevens and touch rugby. Aside from rugby union, she works as a biokineticist.[2]
She represented KwaZulu-Natal at domestic level between 2005 and 2008, and Western Province between 2009 and 2012. She also represented South Africa Women at Under-20 level in 2008, at senior level between 2008 and 2010 and for the sevens team between 2008 and 2012. Her records includes appearing at the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup in England.
Refereeing
[edit]She also took up refereeing, joining the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series circuit and being included on the refereeing panel for the 2016 Olympic Games.[3] In December 2016, shortly before making her refereeing test debut for a 2017 World Cup qualifier between Japan and Fiji in Hong Kong, she was included on the South African Rugby Referees' Association's National B panel, becoming the first female referee in history to do so.[4]
The South African became the first female referee to reach forty tests, when she took charge of England vs New Zealand on 14 September 2024.
Personal life
[edit]She graduated at the Stellenbosch University.[5] In her 30s, she was diagnosed with autism.[6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ "SA Rugby Player Profile – Aimee Barrett-Theron". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Aimee makes rugby history". Rugby365. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Olympic Games 2016 - Women's Sevens". World Rugby Officiating. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Barrett-Theron continues to break ground in referee circles". South African Rugby Union. 7 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ "Sport Science alumna on her way to Rio | Stellenbosch University". www.su.ac.za. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ "Aimee Barrett-Theron: 'Autism is my superpower as a rugby referee'". olympics.com.
- ^ "Aimee Barrett-Theron: How autism diagnosis helped her master officiating". www.rugbypass.com. 9 June 2025. Retrieved 13 June 2025.