Davidson could referee URC Grand Final as World Cup year looms, says Henning

Hollie Davidson is being considered for a URC semi-final or Grand Final appointment this season, with URC Head of Match Officials Tappe Henning confirming the Scottish referee ranks among the competition’s top six officials.

The 33-year-old from Aboyne in Aberdeenshire has already rewritten the record books in 2025. In February she became the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations match, taking charge of Ireland’s clash with Italy, and a month later became the first female referee in a Top 14 fixture between ASM Clermont-Auvergne and Lyon. Last season she refereed the EPCR Challenge Cup Final between Bath and Lyon — another historic first.

Henning believes Davidson’s milestone-setting run is far from over. “Holly is growing like all referees, and she’s getting to a point where there’s going to be a lot of firsts for Holly in the years to come. Next year, it’s a World Cup year, and we are quite excited,” he said.

Henning described Davidson as an “any-game, anytime referee” and stressed that her standing within the URC is based purely on performance. “She’s been performing in the top six of our group and is well respected by the teams here as a referee, not as a female or a woman, which is nice to get to that, and she’s got a lot of respect with the players as well,” he added.

Davidson was on the touchline as AR1 for last weekend’s Champions Cup Final between Bordeaux Bègles and Leinster and is set to run the line again in Saturday’s URC quarter-final between Leinster and the Lions.

Her potential appointment to the Grand Final carries one caveat: if Glasgow Warriors — the club she is affiliated with in Scotland — feature in a semi-final, she would not be assigned to that game. “If Glasgow is involved in a semi-final, Holly will not be involved in that semi-final, but if it’s another semi-final that involves two other teams, she could be appointed to that game,” Henning explained.

Elsewhere in the quarter-final officiating appointments, Wales’ Adam Jones will referee Friday’s match between Glasgow and Connacht, with Andrea Piardi among those taking charge of Saturday’s fixtures.