Female Premiership rugby referee 'amazed' at reaction

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION REFEREE, SARA COX, SAYING:"It's about me doing a job out there /and regardless of my gender / it's about me getting out there /and making sure / that I can be as accurate as possible."

LOCATION: London, England

Sara Cox is the first female referee

to officiate in an English Premiership rugby match

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION REFEREE, SARA COX, SAYING:

"They were so respectful, and equally I was respectful to them and the way they do their job because ultimately at the end of the day we are there to do jobs and we are there to perform on the day and each and every single one of them including the coaching staff congratulated me afterwards, shook my hand and said well done and it's great to see you here. So look, performance-wise, we will look at that in the background and we will look at how how I did and my accuracy of things and what that looks like. But for them to shake my hand and say well done and for them to know about it as well was great."

In 2016 Cox became the world's first professional female rugby union referee

She says she wants to help break down barriers

(SOUNDBITE) (English) RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION REFEREE, SARA COX, SAYING:"I think we have just got to keep that momentum, we've got to keep pushing forward because if I don't and if I stop and don't engage with that community side of stuff then I don't think I'm doing my job very well and I'm not doing a game justice. Because if people can't see what I do and some of the barriers I've managed to break albeit by accident I think, I think we can't get more people involved because they just don't know about it."