Alhambra Nievas, the referee from Granada, is no stranger to records, or firsts, most of which I have been fortunate enough to witness as both a journalist and a friend.
On Thursday, in the warmth of Dubai, there was another one to add to the ever extending list.
At 12:44 local time she refereed a match between Russia and England, nothing unusual there you might think, except for the fact that it was her 100th Women’s World Series Sevens match.
A journey that started on 15 February 2014, in Atlanta,Georgia, with a match between Australia and China, has taken Alhambra around the world and back, and there are still plenty more departure gates to negotiate and jet lagged days to come, for the Andulsian arbiter, who seems to be getting better with age.
She in her modest way will not want a big fuss, but when you look at the full list of the one hundred mtches listed below, it makes you realise what an achievement this really is.
Match 100 Dubai
Match 100 Russia v England
Matches 99-1
Clermont Ferrand Cup Final AUSTRALIA 7 – 22 NEW ZEALAND
25-06-17 Clermont Ferrand Quarter-final CANADA 31 – 0 IRELAND
24-06-17 Clermont Ferrand ENGLAND 31 – 24 BRAZIL
24-06-17 Clermont Ferrand FRANCE 31 – 14 FIJI
28-05-17 Langford Cup Semi-final CANADA 17 – 10 AUSTRALIA
28-05-17 Langford Trophy Semi-final FIJI 24 – 19 BRAZIL
27-05-17 Langford NEW ZEALAND 43 – 7 ENGLAND
27-05-17 Langford AUSTRALIA 21 – 0 IRELAND
23-04-17 Kitakyushu Bronze Medal AUSTRALIA 19 – 17 FIJI
23-04-17 Kitakyushu Quarter-final FIJI 26 – 19 UNITED STATES
22-04-17 Kitakyushu AUSTRALIA 17 – 12 FIJI
22-04-17 Kitakyushu NEW ZEALAND 19 – 14 FRANCE
22-04-17 Kitakyushu CANADA 29 – 12 ENGLAND
04-03-17 Las Vegas Final AUSTRALIA 5 – 28 NEW ZEALAND
04-03-17 Las Vegas Quarter-final NEW ZEALAND 26 – 5 RUSSIA
03-03-17 Las Vegas UNITED STATES 14 – 7 FIJI
03-03-17 Las Vegas. FRANCE 19 – 22 RUSSIA
03-03-17 Las Vegas AUSTRALIA 31 – 14 ENGLAND
02-12-16 Dubai Cup Final NEW ZEALAND 17 – 5 AUSTRALIA
02-12-16 Dubai Cup Semi-final ENGLAND 10 – 31 AUSTRALIA
01-12-16 Dubai Pool A AUSTRALIA 19 – 10 UNITED STATES
01-12-16 Dubai Pool B NEW ZEALAND 19 – 10 FIJI
01-12-16 Dubai Pool B FRANCE 14 – 21 FIJI
29-05-16 Clermont Ferrand Final CANADA 29 – 19 AUSTRALIA
29-05-16 Clermont Ferrand Semi-final ENGLAND 10 – 31 CANADA
29-05-16 Clermont Ferrand Semi Final JAPAN 0 – 33 IRELAND
28-05-16 Clermont Ferrand AUSTRALIA 19 – 12 FRANCE
28-05-16 Clermont Ferrand CANADA 29 – 12 RUSSIA
28-05-16 Clermont Ferrand FRANCE 40 – 0 IRELAND
17-04-16 Langford Semi-final AUSTRALIA 5 – 15 ENGLAND
17-04-16 Langford Quarter-final UNITED STATES 7 – 29 ENGLAND
16-04-16 Langford NEW ZEALAND 19 – 7 UNITED STATES
16-04-16 Langford AUSTRALIA 28 – 7 BRAZIL
16-04-16 Langford ENGLAND 29 – 5 IRELAND
09-04-16 Atlanta Cup Final NEW ZEALAND 19 – 24 AUSTRALIA
09-04-16 Atlanta Cup Semi-final CANADA 14 – 26 AUSTRALIA
09-04-16 Atlanta Cup Quarter-final ENGLAND 19 – 12 RUSSIA
08-04-16 Atlanta NEW ZEALAND 5 – 12 UNITED STATES
08-04-16 Atlanta FIJI 7 – 28 ENGLAND
08-04-16 Atlanta CANADA 26 – 5 RUSSIA
21-02-16 Sao Paulo Cup Final AUSTRALIA 29 – 0 CANADA
21-02-16 Sao Paulo Plate Semi Final FIJI 26 – 12 ENGLAND
21-02-16 Sao Paulo Cup Quarter-final USA 22 – 12 ENGLAND
20-02-16 Sao Paulo RUSSIA 10 – 40 NEW ZEALAND
20-02-16 Sao Paulo AUSTRALIA 19 – 5 IRELAND
20-02-16 Sao Paulo NEW ZEALAND 35 – 5 UNITED STATES
20-02-16 Sao Paulo AUSTRALIA 26 – 17 FIJI
04-12-15 Dubai Cup Semi-final FRANCE 0 – 26 AUSTRALIA
04-12-15 Dubai Cup Quarter-final CANADA 12 – 17 ENGLAND
03-12-15 Dubai Pool C AUSTRALIA 43 – 0 JAPAN
03-12-15 Dubai Pool A NEW ZEALAND 7 – 33 RUSSIA
23-05-15 Amsterdam Cup Final AUSTRALIA 17 – 20 CANADA
23-05-15 Amsterdam Semi-final AUSTRALIA 26 – 0 ENGLAND
23-05-15 Amsterdam Quarter-final CANADA 33 – 0 FRANCE
22-05-15 Amsterdam AUSTRALIA 24 – 7 ENGLAND
22-05-15 Amsterdam UNITED STATES 36 – 14 FIJI
22-05-15 Amsterdam AUSTRALIA 29 – 7 RUSSIA
16-05-15 London Cup Final CANADA 17 – 20 AUSTRALIA
16-05-15 London 11-12th Place SOUTH AFRICA 14 – 7 BRAZIL
16-05-15 London Quarter-final UNITED STATES 19 – 12 FRANCE
15-05-15 London CANADA 31 – 0 ENGLAND
15-05-15 London UNITED STATES 24 – 19 FIJI
15-05-15 London NEW ZEALAND 34 – 0 BRAZIL
19-04-15 Langford Cup Final RUSSIA 10 – 29 NEW ZEALAND
19-04-15 Langford Semi Final AUSTRALIA 10 – 29 UNITED STATES
19-04-15 Langford Quarter-final UNITED STATES 0 – 17 FRANCE
18-04-15 Langford CANADA 19 – 15 UNITED STATES
18-04-15 Langford AUSTRALIA 40 – 0 CHINA
18-04-15 Langford NEW ZEALAND 38 – 14 FIJI
15-03-15 Atlanta Semi-final UNITED STATES 19 – 14 RUSSIA
15-03-15 Atlanta Quarter-final NEW ZEALAND 36 – 0 BRAZIL
14-03-15 Atlanta NEW ZEALAND 57 – 0 UNITED STATES
14-03-15 Atlanta ENGLAND 24 – 0 BRAZIL
14-03-15 Atlanta AUSTRALIA 36 – 0 FIJI
08-02-15 Sao Paulo 3-4th Place FRANCE 0 – 19 CANADA
08-02-15 Sao Paulo 11-12th Place SOUTH AFRICA 17 – 31 CHINA
08-02-15 São Paulo Semi Final FIJI 24 – 22 SOUTH AFRICA
07-02-15 Sao Paulo AUSTRALIA 38 – 7 FIJI
07-02-15 Sao Paulo FRANCE 14 – 12 UNITED STATES
07-02-15 Sao Paulo ENGLAND 31 – 5 SOUTH AFRICA
05-12-14 Dubai Semi-final FRANCE 10 – 31 NEW ZEALAND
05-12-14 Dubai Quarter-final AUSTRALIA 47 – 0 FIJI
04-12-14 Dubai NEW ZEALAND 29 – 12 RUSSIA
04-12-14 Dubai ENGLAND 29 – 7 BRAZIL
04-12-14 Dubai AUSTRALIA 24 – 10 FRANCE
17-05-14 Amsterdam Bowl Final S AFRICA 7 – 29 NETHERLANDS
17-05-14 Amsterdam Cup Quarter-final AUSTRALIA 33 – 0 BRAZIL
16-05-14 Amsterdam AUSTRALIA 36 – 5 RUSSIA
16-05-14 Amsterdam CANADA 28 – 0 BRAZIL
22-02-14 Sao Paulo 7-8th Place JAPAN 13 – 5 NETHERLANDS
22-02-14 Sao Paulo Semi-final AUSTRALIA 31 – 0 ENGLAND
22-02-14 Sao Paulo Quarter-final N ZEALAND 35 – 7 NETHERLANDS
21-02-14 Sao Paulo BRAZIL 14 – 20 NETHERLANDS
21-02-14 Sao Paulo RUSSIA 29 – 0 ARGENTINA
21-02-14 Sao Paulo NEW ZEALAND 36 – 0 IRELAND
16-02-14 Atlanta 11-12th Place IRELAND 5 – 20 BRAZIL
16-02-14 Atlanta Quarter-final NEW ZEALAND 42 – 0 JAPAN
15-02-14 Atlanta BRAZIL 7 – 21 JAPAN
15-02-14 Atlanta AUSTRALIA 31 – 0 CHINA
Mike Pearce Rugby 