Hollie Davidson to referee Boks against Portugal in Bloemfontein

History will be made in Bloemfontein on July 20 this year when, for the first time in Springbok history, a woman referee will handle a Test involving the current world champions.

Hollie Davidson, 31, from Scotland will take charge of the match between the Boks and Portugal, the first time these teams will meet in the Test arena.

Davidson already made history earlier this year when she was an assistant referee during the Six Nations match between England and Wales at Twickenham.

‘Massive occasion’

“To referee the world champions in their home stadium will be a massive occasion for not only myself but all of the refereeing team and it’s something to look forward to,” Davidson was quoted as saying on scottishrugby.org

“I have enjoyed and learned a lot from the high profile matches I’ve been involved in, especially in the Six Nations and URC this year.

“I want to continue to progress and I’m excited about the matches I’ll be involved in as the club season draws to a close before looking ahead to the international games in the summer.”

Andrew Macpherson, Scottish Rugby’s High Performance Match Official Manager, told the website: “Hollie’s appointments are a real credit to the work she’s put in, not just recently but throughout her career.

“She is a trailblazer for not just women’s refereeing but refereeing as a whole in Scotland. To referee the world champions will be an amazing experience and another landmark moment which will continue her development going forward.”

Appointments to Bok Tests

World Rugby on Tuesday also announced all the other appointments for the Tests to be played in the June/July window.

The Boks’ opening Test of the year, against Wales at Twickenham on June 22, will be handled by Chris Busby from Ireland, while the two matches against Ireland, in Pretoria and Durban, will be officiated by Australia’s Angus Gardner and Karl Dickson of England.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s AJ Jacobs has been appointed to referee the Test between Namibia and Portugal in Windhoek, where Griffin Colby is one of the assistant referees, a week before the Boks take on the Portuguese in Bloemfontein.

Three South African television match officials will also be in action during the mid-year Tests. They are Marius van der Westhuizen, Quinton Immelman and Marius Jonker.

Also, South Africa’s top women referee, Aimee Barrett-Theron, will be in action during the World Rugby U-20 Championship in Cape Town during June and July, along with Morne Ferreira and Immelman.

For a full list of the official appointments for the June/July Tests click here.