At the age of just 31, Scottish International Match Official, Hollie Davidson got the news of the summer international appointment and is set to referee three fixtures. Starting with Canada vs Romania in Ottawa, then over to Mzansi where she would ref the world champions, South Africa vs Portugal in Bloemfontein and lastly, Japan vs USA. But the first woman to referee the world champions, Hollie Davidson says that this is only the beginning of her journey to getting to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in 2027.
Her historical journey began when she was just 14 years old, playing the scrum-half for Murrayfield Wanderers, one of the most successful women’s rugby union teams in Scotland. She then encountered a life-altering injury to her shoulder, which ended her career as a player, but little did she know that that tragic mishap would lead to a history-making career later down the line. Davidson became the Scottish Rugby Union’s first full-time professional women’s referee in 2017.
WATCH Hollie Davidson’s interview:
She then went on to referee Sevens rugby and today she’s refereeing the 15’s team, including world champions, the Springboks as she did last Saturday. “Dealing with those high-pressure situations, [in] Sevens everything happens so fast and you need to react really well and before you know it, you’re onto the next fixture so you need to be able to learn from your game very quickly and then go on to your next fixture, potentially within the next hour,” explains Davidson.
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In an episode of Stronger Than You Think podcast, Hollie outlines the abuse and hatred she’d received after making a certain call during a game, how she was spat at on the field for it and how it made her question being in the business of rugby altogether. But thankfully, Davidson perseveres as she continues to make history at every turn.
WATCH the podcast snippet here:
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“I’d like to think that more boys and girls see it as a norm – it’s just normal in rugby now that there are female officials and I’d love for more females to get opportunities in this male space. I still like to see myself though as just an official. I think when we get to a certain point, we want to always be there on merit, we don’t want to be tick-box exercises.”
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