Staff Reporter.
@WorldRugby.
History will be made in Bloemfontein on July 20 this year, for the first time in Springbok history, a woman referee will handle a Test involving the current world champions.
Hollie Davidson, 31, from Scotland will take charge of the match between the Boks and Portugal, the first time these teams will meet in the Test arena.
The appointment of Scotland’s Davidson was announced by World Rugby on Tuesday, along with the match officials for all the June and July internationals.
Chris Busby from Ireland will be the man in the middle when the Boks kick off their 2024 season against Wales at Twickenham in London on 22 June, while Australia’s Angus Gardner and Karl Dickson from England have been appointed to referee the Boks’ two tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban respectively.
South Africa’s AJ Jacobs has been appointed to referee the test between Namibia and Portugal in Windhoek, where Griffin Colby is one of the assistant referees, a week before the Boks take on the Portuguese in Bloemfontein.
Three South African television match officials will also be in action during the mid-year tests. They are Marius van der Westhuizen, Quinton Immelman and Marius Jonker. For a full list of the official appointments for the June/July test, click here.
Aimee Barrett-Theron, Morne Ferreira and Immelman are on the panel for the World Rugby U20 Championship, which takes place in Cape Town in June and July.
For a full list of the official appointments for the June/July Tests click here.