Sahar Z.

English-born Israeli, pretending to be Italian. Freelance translator EN/HE/IT. Rugby referee. Was once called a gift from heaven by a nun.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

I will be (and indeed, already am) working freelance, so if you need anything written/edited/proofread/translated, you know where to find me

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

...Did I mention it has a contribution from Tony Blair? I *know* that Tony Blair discourse on Twitter is nothing but good vibes.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

Admittedly it's been a while since I was last here, but Twitter still loves reasoned, sensible, cogently argued and positive political discourse...right? In which case, do I have the book for you, courtesy of @YairZivan: https://t.co/26zDPRVmlW

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@april_astrid I am, thank you

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea There are a lot of people involved in rugby whose words and actions suggest they deeply hate the game.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea I think the big opportunity for Nika is that like Holly in the women's world cup, his nation almost certainly won't reach the final, so you can build a four-year plan with a To4 that he leads, get them lots of experience working together. If WR is forward-thinking enough, that is

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea I wonder if Raynal may not be seen as a bit too much of a maverick (i.e. French) for the final, although he's a fantastic ref. I reckon it goes first choice Barnes, second choice Peyper, third Raynal.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea Piardi has to be a decent candidate to go next time, I think this one might have just come too soon for him. I think the most positive thing is the age distribution of the group, a lot of the refs/ARs there are younger guys who could be around for the next two or three World Cups

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea That's fair, but I do think England currently has the greatest depth. Even the Prem guys beyond the four who went are probably top three anywhere else (Foley, Christophe Ridley, CMK). It's a balance between picking the best refs but also making sure there's broad representation.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea And Nika for me is arguably top three in the world, which is insane when you think he's done only a handful (five or six) of top-flight (URC/Top14) games and arguably has almost 20 years left at the top level.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea Agreed, generally think the depth and extent of talent in World Rugby reffing at the moment is massively underappreciated and under-discussed.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea That said, I think the Dan Biggar offside could and probably should have been a YC. But the Fiji YC was as straightforward and nailed-on a YC as you'll see.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea Finally someone says it. The amount of supposedly serious rugby commentators who are pretending like they don't know the difference between repeated infringements and cynical infringements is as depressing as it is predictable.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@thedeadballarea The sport's got a real problem. The amount of injuries in the last month and a half is not reasonable. I feel like you could create a hell of a XV of injured players originally named in squads.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@nickheathsport Happy to provide advice on the Palio, I lived in Siena and saw it several times. But in terms of getting them closer to attending, it's very easy to attend, it's not an exclusive ticketed event like some of the others on the list. Feel free to DM if they want advice/info.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@deargodwhatnow Mazal tov! :)

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@Scienceofsport @thedeadballarea Again, I'm happy to hear the counter-view, but you're completely right that those discussions all happen behind closed doors so I don't have access to them when forming my judgment.

[Sahar Z. @TheSaharZ]

@Scienceofsport @thedeadballarea "Matt, I have foul play by Green 7, high tackle with high force direct to the head, with Black 14 ducking into contact as mitigation. Here are the best two angles."

TMO is adding value, advising, speeding up the process, ref is still making the final decision.