Referee backs "safety-first" return for rugby

Premiership referee, Sara Cox, has welcomed rugby's cautious approach to resumption following the coronavirus crisis.

The Rugby Football Union last week published a restart roadmap outlining the steps for community clubs to return to training. Meanwhile, the men's Premiership has set a provisional date of mid-August for the current season to resume, although the women's Premier 15s campaign has been cancelled.

Cox, the first-ever professional female referee, is looking forward to being back in action but not at the expense of players' health. "As lovely as it would be to have rugby back on the TV and being involved in the game, we've got to look after the safety of human life," she said.

"We've got to make sure it's the right environment for everybody to be able to operate in safely."

The former Exeter and Saracens star also admitted officials will need a proper pre-season as mach as the players: "It is pretty similar in some respects. When it comes to playing rugby, the players take a lot of impacts so that's a different type of fitness.

"But we have to do a lot of running and it does take it out of you. You're keeping your body moving in a certain way and [during lockdown] you can only replicate that to a certain extent. It's going to take a bit of a run-in to get back to match fitness and also get your brain back tuned in to how rugby works. It might be we have some training games but we don't yet know what's going to happen."

Speaking as part of Astley Media's Project Positivity series, Cox is concerned about the mental health aspect of the current pandemic, admitting it has been hard at times living on her own during the lockdown.  

"When we started it was all about getting a routine and making sure you're disciplined throughout the day. You do get to a point where you start losing that motivation but it's okay to be okay with that. 

"You have to understand you are sometimes going to lack that discipline as long as you get back to it."