• Scot a torchbearer for female refs.

What a breath of fresh air it was, to witness a female referee being tasked with handling an international rugby Test, when Hollie Davidson of Scotland took control of the one-off Test between World Champions South Africa and Portugal, at Bloemfontein last Saturday (20).

It has to be said at the outset that, in all my years of following international rugby since the beginning of the 1990s, this was the first time ever that I had the privilege of witnessing a rugby Test being officiated by a female referee.

This could also be the case for the majority of Sri Lankan rugby fans, who too would not have come across a female referee attached to the Elite Referees Panel of World Rugby being assigned a Men’s rugby Test in the recent past.

The most recent occasion was in 2022, when Davidson herself was appointed to an all-women team of match officials for a Men’s Test match in Lisbon, between Tier 1 side Italy and hosts Portugal.

Therefore, it goes without saying that it was a welcome sight to see a member of the fair sex being entrusted with the job of handling a Men’s Test between the world’s top-ranked side and the team ranked 16th.  

It has to be said that Davidson stepping into the arena, which has hitherto been the exclusive domain or club of her male counterparts, will be appreciated, and warmly welcomed by rugby fans globally.

The Scot, who became the first woman to control a Test in South Africa, quickly stamped her authority in the match, as the 14-man Springboks thumped Portugal 64-21, dumping 10 tries in a one-sided contest.

When Springbok Andre Esterhuizen fouled fellow centre Jose Lima with less than three minutes on the clock, she watched repeated replays of the incident, and flashed a yellow card to deafening silence of the sizeable South African crowd at Toyota Stadium.  

She also told an off-field official to review the incident, and decide whether the punishment should be upgraded to a red card via the Bunker Review System (BRS). 

Several minutes later, yellow turned to red, and the reigning World Champions were reduced to 14 for the remainder of the game.

Davidson once again lifted a card from her pocket on 35 minutes, for foul play with dynamic South Africa winger Kurt-Lee Arendse the offender.

This time she was satisfied 10 minutes in the sin bin would suffice, and a relieved Arendse returned in the second half, after the Springboks were temporarily reduced to 13 men.

The Scot took further disciplinary action five minutes from time, with substitute Quan Horn yellow-carded after a foul, while the Portuguese managed to stay on the right side of her whistle throughout the 80 minutes. 

The Boks assistant Coach Mzwandile Stick had hailed Davidson before the match, and expressed hope that many more women referees would come up the ranks by following in her footsteps and control Men’s Tests in the future.

"Hollie always displays confidence, and I like the way she handles matches. Congratulations to her on becoming the first woman to handle a Springboks Test,” he said.

"Well done to World Rugby too, for making this appointment. This is what transformation in rugby is all about. I have no doubt we will see a lot more women referees rising through the structures and handling Tests in future. Before our match against Portugal, I had watched Hollie many times in the United Rugby Championship, and she handled every match capably. Her appointment to handle the Springboks for the first time was thoroughly deserved."

Let’s hope that the mould broken by Hollie Davidson will pave the way for other female rugby referees to aspire to higher standards, and thereby create a pathway for them to ‘blow’ Men’s rugby Tests, which no doubt could keep their male counterparts on their toes as well.