AS PERCY Montgomery recently discovered, laying your hands on a rugby official is a dangerous game.

But there's one referee who's glad to have been knocked over by a player during the game - because now she's marrying him.

Rachel Allen, 33, from Newport, referees matches in the Swiss league where she lives and works, and was a touch judge in the final of the women's rugby World Cup.

And she's returned to Gwent this week to marry Neville Boyland, 44, at the Celtic Manor on Sunday.

Rachel's father Rhodri Allen was also a referee who coached Chepstow in the 1970s and was president of the Referee's Association in Asia in the 1980s.

And he made sure his daughter was raised in the same tradition. She said: "We've always gone to matches and my grandma was a member of Newport RFC for 60-odd years.

"My sister and I both helped with the timekeeping at the Hong Kong Sevens in 1991 when I was only eleven.

"I never wanted to play and I never did play - I think the game's too physical for women, but refereeing always interested me. I love watching the game and being involved with it.

"I came to Switzerland because I was working for Nestle. I discovered they play rugby out here and a local team asked me to be their club referee."

Since then Rachel has refereed matches all over the world, including Australia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and Germany, but it was a home game that ended up as a love match. She said: "I'd refereed Neville's club several times when he'd been injured but we didn't meet until four years ago.

"He knocked me over during the game and he was there in the bar afterwards. I said 'Who's the berk who knocked me over?' and he raised his hand."

Do rugby players have a problem with a member of the fairer sex telling them what to do?

"I've been a touch judge at the women's World Cup in Barcelona and I did the final between England and New Zealand. "I used to get some players saying 'What's she doing on the pitch?' but now everybody in Swiss rugby knows me.

"You just get on with the job or just go out there and you do it. They respect me - as much as a referee can get respect from players!"

* Pictured, rugby ref Rachel Allen