He officiated at international level from 1998 to 2014,[1] and at three Rugby World Cups, including refereeing the semi-final between South Africa and Argentina in 2007.

Walsh became the most experienced Super Rugby referee in 2014, passing Jonathan Kaplan's record before retiring from the game in 2015.

Steve Reid Walsh was born in Cambridge, New Zealand and attended Glenfield College and the Kristin School in Auckland.

[3] Walsh began refereeing at age 16 and went on to become the youngest official to make his NPC debut, in the third division, just four years later.

[2] At the age of 23, Walsh made his Test refereeing debut on 13 June 1998, when France beat Argentina 35–18 in Buenos Aires.

[5] Reddin was cleared of misconduct for his part in the incident but was banned from touchline duties for two games for sending winger Dan Luger onto the field against the match official's orders.

Walsh received a third strike on his record,[8] when he was asked to leave a refereeing conference in Sydney after turning up drunk in December 2008.