Ham Lambert- An Appreciation
The passing of Ham Lambert is unique on a multitude of fronts. There is the normal sorrow at the passing away of a fellow human being. But that has to be tempered by both the longevity accorded to him and the wonderful use he made of all those years on earth. His death marks the passing of the oldest man in the world who had an involvement in international rugby. But for the Association of Referees, Leinster Branch, there is great pride in recalling his extraordinary commitment to the affairs of the Association. There was, and ever, will be one Ham Lambert.
In the 20th Century just passed, there was scarcely a referee who did not come into contact with Ham in one way or another. Following on his distinguished career on the active front, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the development of new generations of referees. He ran clinics before such a term entered into the parlance of the refereeing world. He was an assessor cum coach, a confidant cum mentor. He was never overtly critical but, nevertheless unwavering in terms of establishing the highest of standards. He was as happy giving his time to a young, developmental referee as he was fine tuning the preparations of an international. It was rare for Ham to miss the pre-season seminar and his accumulated attendance at Laws meetings will probably never be exceeded. He never sought the limelight. Instead he was content to listen and observe. But when he did speak, everyone in the room paid attention. He had a wonderfully clear philosophy as to what constituted good refereeing. He exhorted generations of referees to consider why they shouldn't blow the whistle!!
In latter years, his attendances became more infrequent. But he still made the Past Presidents' dinner and tried to get to the annual golf outing. He took great pride in all the events associated with our centenary. He kept up a great contact with members of the Association and joined Lansdowne men like Ned Cummins, Kevin Kelleher, David Bell and Former Trinity International referee John West, for what might be described as referee lunches
It is therefore apt that the A.R.L.B. acknowledges a lifetime of service to the Association. It is hard at this point in time to see when such a level of involvement can ever be duplicated again. Thank you, Ham.