Hall of Fame ref is first woman to take charge of All Blacks game

Hollie Davidson refereed the Women's World Cup final in 2022 and 2025

Rugby referee Hollie Davidson is set to make history again next month when she becomes the first woman to take charge of an All Blacks game.

The 33-year-old will be in the middle as New Zealand face Wales on 22 November for their autumn international in Cardiff.

It is the latest in a list of landmark moments for Davidson, who became Scottish rugby union's first full-time professional women's referee in 2017 and has added a string of "firsts" in the years since.

Now, she has become the first female referee to be inducted into the Scottish Rugby Hall of Fame.

Davidson refereed a World Cup final for the second time when she officiated between England and Canada in September

The Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to celebrate the contribution made by Scots to the game over the past 150 years.

There are currently just 35 inductees including stars such as Gavin Hastings and Doddie Weir as well as pioneering figures from the women's game such as Kim Littlejohn.

At a ceremony in Edinburgh on Thursday night, 13 more people will be inducted including David Sole, the captain of Scotland's 1990 Grand Slam team and legendary players Scott Hastings and Rob Wainwright.

Davidson, from Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, will be the first referee to be inducted, alongside Jim Fleming, who took charge of more test matches than any other Scot.

Despite being one of the most decorated referees in the game, Davidson said she was "surprised" when she got the call.

"I never expected myself to be in there," she said.

"It's such a proud moment for myself, and the sport, to show that you can achieve great things in every aspect of the game."

Davidson made history in 2022 when she became the first female referee to officiate a Tier 1 men's team, when she took charge of Portugal v Italy

Had life worked out differently, Davidson could have been playing for Scotland rather than refereeing.

She was almost 20 when she got her first call-up to the senior women's team but was injured a week before she was named for her first cap.

Following several surgeries, Davidson thought her time in the sport was over but she now describes her injury as a "blessing in disguise".

"Everything happens for a reason and maybe that injury was the best thing that happened to me," she says.

Her refereeing career saw her make history in 2022 when she led an all-female team of match officials at a top tier men's international for the first time.

In May this year, she became the first Scot to referee a European rugby final since Jim Fleming in 1998 - and she's only the second person to take charge of two World Cup finals after she officiated the women's finals in 2022 and 2025.

She was also named World Rugby's Referee of the Year for 2025.

"I had aspirations but the last few years just seem to have been crazy in terms of the firsts and the exposure and the games that I've gone to," she says.

"My career has gone on to places I would have never imagined.

"I'm not done yet, there are things I would still like to achieve but it's been a great journey so far."

Hollie says her career has gone on to places she would have never imagined

Now Davidson turns her focus to the upcoming men's game.

"When I was first contracted, one of my first games on the sidelines was Scotland v New Zealand and Doddie Weir presented the ball," she says.

"It was my first time on the pitch seeing the Haka and I remember the goosebumps around the whole occasion.

"Now, so many years later, for me to be refereeing an iconic team in rugby is a dream come true."