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Sara Cox 1st female to referee top-flight English rugby game

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Sara Cox 1st female to referee top-flight English rugby game
Sport

Sport

Sara Cox 1st female to referee top-flight English rugby game

2018-11-05 02:23 Last Updated At：02:30

Sara Cox has become the first female to referee a top-level English rugby union match.

The 28-year-old Cox, who became the world's first female professional rugby referee in 2016, took charge of Northampton's 15-14 Premiership Cup victory at Wasps on Sunday.

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Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
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Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Cox had previously refereed in the second and third tiers of English rugby.

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

An injury-time try by Mitch Eadie sealed a comeback win for Northampton which took the club to the top of Pool Three in the competition.

More AP sports: https://apnews.com/tag/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox ahead of the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

 Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)
Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

 Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox talks to Northampton Saints Ben Franks during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

 Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

 Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

Referee Sara Cox during the rugby premiership match between Wasps and Northampton at The Ricoh Arena, Coventry, England, Sunday Nov. 4, 2018. (Nigel FrenchPA via AP)

BOSTON (AP) — Marat Khusnutdinov and Viktor Arvidsson scored in the first 3:45 of the game, and the Boston Bruins held on to beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Thursday night after raising Zdeno Chara's No. 33 to the rafters.

Mark Kastelic added a short-handed goal in the second period, and Jeremy Swayman stopped 26 shots for Boston, which swept a five-game homestand for the first time since 2019 and won for the seventh time in eight games. David Pastrnak scored an empty-netter with 15 seconds left after the Kraken picked up back-to-back penalties, then pulled the goalie to play five-on-four.

Chandler Stephenson and Eeli Tolvanen scored, and Joey Daccord made 20 saves for the Kraken, who have lost four of their last five games.

The Bruins began the night by honoring Chara, the Hall of Fame defenseman who was the captain of their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and current Bruins president Cam Neely were among those who took part in the ceremony, which ended with Chara's children raising his number to the TD Garden rafters.

Khusnutdinov took a long pass from Charlie McAvoy, skated in on Daccord and slipped in a backhand to make it 1-0 54 seconds into the game. Less than three minutes later, Arvidsson tried to center the puck to Casey Mittelstadt, but it was deflected into the net by Seattle's Jordan Eberle.

The Kraken called an early timeout, leaving them without one when they might have needed it down two players in the final minute.

After Stephenson made it a one-goal game, Kastelic poked the puck away from Kraken forward Matty Beniers and skated in on Daccord for the short-handed goal that made it 3-1.

The Kraken visit Utah on Saturday.

The Bruins visit Chicago on Saturday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Former Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara speaks during his number retirement ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Seattle Kraken Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Boston Bruins' Viktor Arvidsson is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Boston Bruins' Viktor Arvidsson is congratulated at the bench after scoring against the Seattle Kraken during the first period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

 Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes a save as defenseman Nikita Zadorov and Seattle Kraken's Frederick Gaudreau look for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman makes a save as defenseman Nikita Zadorov and Seattle Kraken's Frederick Gaudreau look for the rebound during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

 Boston Bruins' Mark Kastelic eyes a loose puck as he gets past Seattle Kraken's Matty Beniers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Boston Bruins' Mark Kastelic eyes a loose puck as he gets past Seattle Kraken's Matty Beniers during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

 Seattle Kraken's Chandler Stephenson deflects the puck past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Seattle Kraken's Chandler Stephenson deflects the puck past Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
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