Whistling while she works. Rugby ref Sara has her sights set on Rio in 2016

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She’s the only English, female referee on the international rugby sevens circuit – and she’s got an eye firmly on the next Olympics.

As well as ref-ing for the seven-a-side game, Sara Cox, 24, from Broadclyst in East Devon, is also one of two women, English referees on the international 15s circuit.

As well as these coveted roles, she also referees for the National League 3 South West Men’s 15s and is aiming to referee at the 2016 Olympics when the sport of rugby sevens makes its debut. The other thing she wants is to see more women involved in the sport, but she is adamant that it’s attitude, not gender, which is the determining factor.

“It takes a certain type of personality to be a referee,” she says. “You have to be able to take angry coaches screaming at you and keep your level of fitness high. I’ve had it all – the wolf whistles, men asking me, ‘should you really be doing this?’ and heard the whispers ‘it’s always been a gentleman’s sport. It’s only recently that women have put their stamp on it.’

“But this attitude is becoming less and less common. And I let my refereeing do the talking – it does everything I need it to do. I’m a referee, not a female referee. There are no barriers that prevent women from being referees. It’s for you to prove as a person you can do it; gender doesn’t come into it.”

As a teenager the former Clyst Vale Community College student played for Exeter Saracens and Cullompton and had honours at county and regional level, three times trialling for England Under-21s, deciding on her third go, aged just 17, to try her hand at refereeing.

“I was too young to go into coaching so I thought, what can I do next?” she continues. “I was always quite lippy on the pitch, so I thought what better way to continue to be involved than to pick up a whistle and have a go? For whatever reason, I really, really loved it.”

From refereeing on the Sevens Women’s Grand Prix circuit, a Europe-wide competition, Sara was trialled by the Rugby and Football Union and then scouted by the International Rugby Board while refereeing at a game at Twickenham.

Over the last 12 months her role has taken her from Australia, Dubai, France, Spain and Brazil to Atlanta, Amsterdam and Moscow for both Euro and World Cup games predominantly as an International Women’s Rugby Sevens referee.

“I love sevens,” she reveals. “It’s so fast, and it’s 14 minutes to concentrate instead of 80! I’m built for speed and I like the intensity. For me it’s the excitement of those 14 minutes where everyone on the pitch has the same aim and I’m facilitating it. The buzz and the reaction of the players and the crowd, and the atmosphere … you can’t beat it.”

Sara has to be on top of her game, keeping up with the players physically but also mentally – knowing where the ball is, having the law book at the forefront of her mind, working out if one has been broken and, if so, what to do about it, all in a split second.

“A decision can change a game,” she says. “There are times when you don’t get it right, but it’s about getting that margin of error closer. These players are playing for titles and funding and, when the Olympics come, medals for their country – I have to make sure I’m top of my game.

“We make mistakes, and if anyone says they don’t they’re lying because we’re human. I’ve gone out in front of 20,000 spectators at Twickenham, aired on Sky TV and made a wrong call. You can make an howler at this level; it’s the way you deal with it.

“The most important thing is to put your hand up. Players will forgive you, until it becomes a pattern. But it’s a learning point; you learn and the players learn and you have to make sure you don’t do it again.”

Sara also has to keep her eye on players who cheat. “Players will always try to cheat – they want to see what they can get away with – but it’s for me to set that boundary and not let them get away with it.”

With no funding or pay, Sara is in it purely for the love of the sport, and she intends to be at the Rio Games in two years.

“Selection has already started,” she says. “It’s not a given that anyone performing well now will be selected. I’ve got to stay fit, get the game experience and tick the right boxes. I can’t control their decision but I can control how fit I am and the way I perform. It means everything to get there.”

By day, Sara is a marketing executive for Coastal Recycling at Marsh Barton, where the bosses have been hugely supportive. But despite her success on the international circuit, the refereeing Sara continues to do locally with young people still means as much to her.

“When one of the young players storms ahead and scores a try,” she adds, “that for them is their World Cup. To have facilitated that and be a part of their legacy with the game – what more could you want?”

Article source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/international/8794781/Yarde-to-make-England-debut-Eastmond-starts

Whistling while she works. Rugby ref Sara has her sights set on Rio in 2016