HAVING A BLAST
Ref Clint’s an atomic boffin
“COULD you build an atomic bomb?” is not the first question top match off i c i a l s a r e normally asked.
And “Do you glow in the dark?” also doesn’t usually crop up much in chats with them either.
But touch-judge Dr Clint Sharrad regularly hears both jokes, plus a whole raft of others, thanks to his day job.
Sharrard, 42, who has run the line at seven Grand Finals, two Challenge Cup finals plus World Club Challenge games, is also a nuclear scientist.
He lectures at Manchester University and t he l i st of publications and studies to his name would frankly be mind-boggling to the average fan.
But Aussie-born Sharrad admits he’s well used to the reaction when people discover his surprising fusion of jobs. He said: “I usually try not to mention the whole nuclear thing as it scares people away.
“If people ask I’ll tell them I’m a chemist because that’s what my PhD is in but if they delve a bit more I’ll mention that I’m a nuclear scientist and engineer.
“That’s when they think you’re going to glow in the dark or ask if I can make an atomic bomb.
“Some people think it’s kind of cool at first because of Breaking Bad but then they realise it’s actually quite dull.”
But when Sharrad is mixing in academic circles, there is also a similar intrigue if anyone finds out what his second job is.
The man who grew up in Ipswich, Australia, idolising local hero Alfie Langer, said: “They will ask me which code and I always say the better one!”
Father-of-one Sharrad says the combination of the two jobs gives him the perfect balance.
He said: “It’s good to have a release and something different.
“In many respects it’s healthy as a match official to be able to go to another job.
“My job is looking at ways of managing the nuclear l e g a c y a nd mak i n g nuclear energy much more sustainable and acceptable to the public.”
Sharrad’s two roles may seem worlds apart but he insists: “You would be surprised how much crossover there is – especially nowadays with assessments and reviews of matches.”