Scotland give top ref her flowers
Today at 02:14 AM
Scotland's top referee Hollie Davidson, who is doing so much more than blazing a trail for female match officials, has received her Scottish Rugby referee cap.
Davidson, 32, who hails from Aboyne, was presented with her cap in a ceremony on Wednesday at Murrayfield Stadium by SRU President Keith Wallace.
He said: "Hollie is an outstanding referee, following in the footsteps of our finest match officials. She exudes a calm authority and allows the players to take centre stage.
"Like so many referees, Hollie took up the whistle after injury ended her playing career. While a dodgy shoulder meant her dream of becoming a Scotland player at scrumhalf was thwarted, she is now scaling the heights as a Test match referee. And I firmly believe there is more to come from Hollie."
Davidson became the second recipient of a Scottish Rugby referees' cap, following the inaugural presentation to Allan Hosie, at his home in Ayr last month.
The cap is awarded to living referees who have controlled a Test match involving a Tier 1 union in the men's game.
A further presentation will take place at Murrayfield Stadium later this month to Davidson's colleague, Mike Adamson.
Next month, as part of the centenary celebrations of Murrayfield, on Friday, March 21, a further eight Scotland international referees, will receive their referee caps.
Keith Wallace added: "We all know that without the referee, we have no game. I am very proud that we have extended our retrospective caps project – which has seen players in the male and female game gain the ultimate recognition – to now include referees.
"Our research in this area is ongoing and we may yet choose to extend the scope of referee recognition."
In total, she has now taken charge of 11 men's international matches at all levels of the game and 24 women's international matches.
Hollie Davidson said: "I'm honoured to receive this cap and recognition from Scottish Rugby. There are a lot of people behind the scenes that have helped and guided me to where I am today, so this is thanks to them as well."
Davidson's referee highlights are stellar:
-Women's Rugby World Cup final in 2022 NZ v Eng
-RWC 7s Final in 2022
-Commonwealth Games 7s Final in 2022
-Olympic 7s in 2021
-Debut in EPCR Champions Cup this season
-Assistant referee in Rugby Championship and Men's 6 Nations
-Refereed Women's 6 Nations title deciders (England v France)
-Refereed U20 6N and U20 JWC in 2023
-URC QF referee in season 2023/24 - Munster v Ospreys
-Became first female referee to officiate a Tier 1 men's team when she took charge of Portugal v Italy in June 2022.
-Has also officiated South Africa and Ireland in their Test matches v Portugal and Fiji respectively last year.
