Early years

Hale began his involvement with rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 as a player with the North Shore club. He would go on to be involved in coaching and administration with the club, before becoming a referee in 1976.

Refereeing career

Hale made his senior referee debut in 1981, five years after taking up the whistle. Besides refereeing in the Auckland Rugby League

Auckland Rugby League

The Auckland Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region and was the owner of Carlaw Park, once the "spiritual home of rugby league in New Zealand".-History:The Auckland Rugby League was...

 and New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

 competitions, Hale also controlled PNG's Cambridge Cup final in 1990, several matches in the Rugby Football League Championship and the 1992 World Club Challenge

1992 World Club Challenge

The 1992 World Club Challenge match was contested by the 1991–92 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan and the 1992 NSWRL season's premiers, the Brisbane Broncos...

 match.

Hale retired in 1997.

International career

Hale made his international test debut in 1999 controlling a match between PNG

Papua New Guinea national rugby league team

The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea internationally in the sport of rugby league football.In Papua New Guinea, Rugby league is highly popular and is regarded as the country’s national sport. The national side are known as the Kumuls...

 and Great Britain

Great Britain national rugby league team

The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....

 in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. Great Britain felt hard done by Hale's refereeing in Papua New Guinea and at the 1992 Ashes series.

Hale would go on to referee eleven consecutive test matches. This would include six between October 1991 and October 1992 and five in the 1992 calender year, both world records. This included the final of the 1992 World Cup.

When he controlled the 1995 test at Lang Park between Australia and New Zealand, he became the first New Zealander to control an overseas test match involving New Zealand. His last international test was at the 1995 World Cup

1995 Rugby League World Cup

The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact that 1995 marked the 100th birthday of the sport...

. Hale finished with thirteen test matches, the second most by a New Zealander after John Percival

John Percival (rugby league)

John Percival was a New Zealand rugby league referee. An international referee, in 1995 Percival was one of the New Zealand Rugby League's inaugural inductions into the "Legends of League".-Domestic career:...

.

Personal life

Hale, a Devonport

Devonport

Devonport may mean:* Devonport, Devon, part of Plymouth, UK** HMNB Devonport, naval base/dockyard** Plymouth Devonport , parliamentary constituency formerly known as Devonport* Devonport, New Zealand, a suburb of Auckland...

 businessman, is married to Dianne, who is a former Deputy Mayor of the North Shore City Council and currently sits on the Devonport - Takapuna Local Board.