Breaking Records: Scotland’s Hollie Davidson's Unstoppable Rise As Rugby Referee

Davidson's historic appointments mark a milestone in women's refereeing in rugby

Davidson has worked in high-profile events like the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Women’s Six Nations Championship /

By Priscilla Jepchumba

Born in Scotland, Davidson began playing rugby at the age of 14. She played for Murrayfield Wanderers, one of Scotland's best women's rugby teams. During her time there, she was nicknamed ‘the speed bump.’

Before she was given her first senior cap, she dislocated her shoulder, but she signed up for the Scottish Rugby Union’s refereeing course in 2015 and was appointed as the first full-time professional female referee in 2017.

Davidson has since worked in several other high-profile events, such as the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Women’s Six Nations Championship. In 2021, she qualified to referee the rugby 7’s tournament at the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics.

Her groundbreaking achievements continued in 2022 and 2023, as she was appointed to officiate in the Rugby World Cup final and became the first female assistant referee in a men's Six Nations Championship match.

Specifically, in 2024, she scored another achievement when she became the first woman to referee a Springboks match.

Davidson made another record as the first woman to ever referee in a Pacific Nations Cup match.

Davidson sees exposure on a large platform as essential for addressing gender inequality and improving refereeing standards across the board.

“I think that it just puts back in focus, once again, that rugby is for everyone, both male and female in a playing and match officiating perspective,” said Davidson.

She hopes that young boys and girls seeing her in her role will inspire them to consider pursuing a career as a referee. She believes that her visibility may encourage future female referees to officiate high-level games such as the Six Nations.

“There is a lot of conversations around having opportunities and I am a big believer that if you see someone that is a similar to you, you can then aspire to do exactly what they do,” she said.

“So for young boys and girls to see me on the line, hopefully it inspires them to one, pick up a whistle and two, try and make it to the top. You never know, in the future there might be a female referee who does a Six Nations game in the middle,” added Davidson.