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| Birth name | Michael Charles Adamson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 17 May 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stirling, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 75 kg (11 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Dollar Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Glasgow University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Rugby union referee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mike Adamson (born 17 May 1984) is a former Scotland 7s international rugby union player and now referee. His primary playing position was at fly-half. Adamson played professionally for Glasgow Warriors and London Scottish and at amateur level for Glasgow Hawks. Adamson is now a SRU referee for the Pro14, European Professional Club Rugby and World Rugby.[1]
Adamson was born in Stirling, Scotland. He played for Glasgow Hawks. He played with the Hawks for 11 years.[2] He helped Glasgow Hawks to National Cup victory in 2007.[3]
Adamson went on to play for Glasgow Warriors, first securing a part-time contract in 2006.[2] At the start of 2006–07 season he played in two pre-season friendlies against Moseley[4] and Newcastle Falcons.[5] He also played for Glasgow Warriors in a friendly at the end of the 2006–07 season against Scotland U20s, scoring a try and four conversions in the match.[6]
He then secured a full-time contract with the Glasgow side in May 2007. He was involved in all 3 pre-season matches for the Warriors in 2007–08 season.[7] He made his only competitive appearance for the Warriors in the Celtic League on 4 January 2008 against Newport Gwent Dragons.[8]
Although he stayed with the Warriors until 2010 he was unable to gain more competitive appearances, finding himself behind Dan Parks and Ruaridh Jackson for the fly-half berth.
He moved on to play for London Scottish but he was to similarly play only 1 competitive match for the exile side, against London Welsh in the 2011–12 season.[9]
Adamson played for Scotland through the age grades:- Scotland U16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and Club XV.[9]
He received senior caps for the Scotland 7s side. He was Scotland 7s player of the season in 2006-07 and went on to play in 30 World Rugby 7s events. He was a Plate Winner in the 2009 Dubai tournament and represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.[9]
When Adamson finished playing professional rugby he turned to refereeing. He stated: "Former players usually go down the coaching route after retirement but I feel I will be able to achieve more through refereeing. I have gained a lot from rugby and would like to give back to the sport."[2]
He has worked his way up the refereeing ladder, officiating in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in England, the Currie Cup in South Africa as well as PRO D2 in France.[10] His refereeing progress and development has been deemed a rapid rise.[11] He has now also refereed in Japan's Top League.[12]
Adamson has been refereeing World 7s matches since 2014.[13] He was appointed to the Refereeing Panel for the Olympic Games Rugby Sevens for Rio 2016.[14]
He refereed his first Pro12 match on 26 November 2016; the match Munster versus Treviso.[1] He became the first ex-player to play and referee in the Celtic League / Pro 12 league.[15] He refereed the 2nd Leg of the 1872 Cup between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby at the end of the 2016–17 season.[16]
He was named as one of the 9 referees that will take charge of the World Rugby U20 Championships in Georgia 2017.[17]
He refereed his first Super 6 match on 21 December 2019.
On 20 November 2021, Adamson refereed his first tier one International Match between Wales and Australia.
On 6 August 2022, Adamson refereed his first Rugby Championship International Match between Argentina and Australia.