Irish ref who sent off Meads dies, aged 95

THE former international rugby referee, Kevin Kelleher, has died at home in Dublin. Kelleher (95), refereed a thenrecord 23 tests between 196072, including five in the 1966 championship. His most famous day with the whistle came in 1967, when with New Zealand leading Scotland 143, their captain Colin Meads kicked David Chisholm. Kelleher (above) had previously warned Meads three times for stamping, and sent him off. ‘Pinetree’ was only the third player sent off in the history of rugby. Mr Kelleher was headmaster of St Conleth’s College and Hon Sec of the Leinster Schools Cups from 1941 to 2012. ÷ WALES captain Sam Warburton is among four players who have re-signed national dual contracts ahead of the autumn Tests. The Welsh union announced that Warburton, his back-row colleague Dan Lydiate, prop Samson Lee and back Hallam Amos have all put pen to paper. Warburton, 28, became the first player to sign a national contract with the WRU in January 2014, which then evolved into a national dual contract with his regional team Cardiff Blues. The contracts are 60 per cent funded by the WRU, with a player’s region paying the rest. ÷ MARIKA KOROIBETE doesn’t expect to be gifted a game on the spring tour but Wallabies assistant coach Stephen Larkham said there was no reason why he couldn’t fit in like Matt Giteau did 14 years ago without any Super Rugby caps to his name. Koroibete was a surprise selection in Michael Cheika’s spring tour squad that departed Sydney yesterday given he has never played a game of Super Rugby.