Hollie Davidson has been presented with the World Rugby Referee Award in partnership with Emirates at the Women’s Rugby Global Summit in London.
Davidson, the 33-year-old from Aboyne, is the second Scottish official after Jim Fleming to receive the accolade, which recognises international men’s and women’s referees in sevens or 15s who have made a significant contribution to the game of rugby.
She is the third female recipient, following in the footsteps of Alhambra Nievas – who shared the award in 2016 with fellow Olympic Games gold medal match referee Rasta Rasivhenge – and Joy Neville, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 final referee.
Davidson has been a trailblazer for female match officials in recent years, continually setting first after first as one of the most experienced referees in the game with more than a quarter of her 46 matches in the middle having come in the men’s test arena.
This weekend, Davidson will take charge of her second Women’s Rugby World Cup final at a sold-out Allianz Stadium Twickenham when Canada play England.
Andrew Macpherson, Scottish Rugby’s high performance match official manager, said: “On behalf of everyone at Scottish Rugby, I want to say a massive congratulations to Hollie on receiving this recognition. She has been a genuine trailblazer, continually pushing boundaries and paving the way for women in refereeing.
“Her outstanding accomplishments on the world’s biggest stages have raised the bar and inspired new people – especially women – to pick up the whistle. I am so proud all she has achieved and we’ll look forward to seeing her take charge in the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final this Saturday.”
- Scot Iain Monaghan is a Canada assistant coach and, like Davidson, will be involved on World Cup finals day.
Hollie Davidson is pictured with her award
From August 7 until September 30, GH Media will be following the Scotland World Cup journey all of the way. We will be at all of the Scotland matches down south and will be bringing you all of the interviews and news from camp as well as taking a wider look at the tournament as a whole and its impact on the women’s game. Thanks to Quirky Chocolate and other supporters for allowing this content to happen and to readers for engaging with it.