‘I want to inspire a new wave of female referees’
The only woman with an RFU contract, Sara Cox relishes breaking mould, she tells Kate Rowan
What do England’s top referees talk about on their Twickenham training camps? Everything from bicycle maintenance to dog walking are the topics of conversation among the likes of Wayne Barnes and JP Doyle, according to Women’s Rugby World Cup referee Sara Cox.
In 2015, the Devon woman became the first female referee to become centrally contracted by the Rugby Football Union.
The off-field life of an elite match official may seem a tad mysterious. The outsider’s imagination might conjure endless talk in hushed tones about scrum laws.
It is with warmth and amusement that Cox answers when asked about the secret life of a referee during a busy day in Twickenham between analysis work and a weights session.
“What do we talk about? Anything and everything. I have spoken to some of the lads about the new bike I have got at home – we had a conversation about that because some of them are keen cyclists as well – right the way through to where you take the dog out for a walk.
Just like any conversation.
“There are still the conversations about rugby. We bounce ideas off each other. I can say to someone like Wayne Barnes, ‘I had this sort of scenario at the weekend, what do you think? How would you look to deal with that and how could I do it better next time?’
“The rugby talk is quite limited, to be honest, because you are generally talking as colleagues and as friends. You’re having a bit of fun and banter as well.”
Cox doesn’t shy from the fact that she is a woman in what is still very much a man’s world but she relishes the experience of being in the elite environment.
“It is different. We definitely can’t get away from that. It is great at the same time. I enjoy it and it is brilliant to be around some of the best referees in the world. To bounce ideas off them and to see how they operate, it can do nothing but help my career.
“At the moment it is 14 men and myself. I train with the guys. They all operate in the Premiership and Championship. I have been absorbed into that group, train alongside them and do my review process alongside them.”
Cox and her colleagues train in a similar manner to any elite athlete, with tailored strength and conditioning work and fitness tests in a rigorous regime.
The 27-year-old seems to have made a habit of achieving firsts. As well as being the first centrally contracted RFU female referee, she also officiated in the first outing of rugby sevens in the Olympic Games in Rio last year and in February she became the first woman to referee in the men’s National League One, the third tier of domestic rugby below the Premiership and Championship.
So, does she consider herself a trailblazer? “Not especially, no. I see myself as someone who is pushing hard in a sport that I enjoy. I have worked hard to get there. What I want to do is inspire the next generation of referees. So, if one female sits down and says, ‘I want to look into getting a referee qualification and how do I do that?’ and I have caused that to happen, it doesn’t matter what else I have done, it is about how we inspire the next generation.”
An aspect of refereeing that often goes unmentioned is the teamwork involved. “We work together, train together, review together, so you do have that team camaraderie. You have that relationship with people where, if you are not having the greatest day in the world, someone will pick
‘At the moment it is 14 men and myself. We train together and bounce ideas off one another’
you up and say, ‘don’t worry about it, do you want to talk about it?’” When the time comes to make a difficult call in a game, the life of the referee becomes a lot less hidden. “That is where your team aspect comes in. You come off a weekend and you are not sure about a call or a phase of play and whether you could have dealt with it differently. That is where you throw it to the group and say, ‘guys, what do you think? How would you deal with it?’ It goes back to learning, the experience that you have. “You can ask someone like Wayne, who has been to however many World Cups, or JP Doyle, who has officiated at Six Nations. They help you and your game.” Does she feel it is more prestigious to officiate the men’s game? “It is prestigious to be involved in the women’s game on an international stage. It is a different thing. You are at the top of your game with women’s internationals. If I broke into the top of the men’s game – fantastic – but I am still enjoying being an international referee at the same time.”
Although aware of her unique standing, Cox is keen to take gender out of her career progression and to be judged on the same merits as her male colleagues. “I happen to be doing things, such as the National League One game, but that is a natural progression as a referee, not as a female. My male counterparts go through the same assessments and if I don’t meet those standards, I won’t get there. There is no difference between me and my male counterparts. I have done my fitness tests just as they have.”