DAVID SOLE

Scottish referee Hollie Davidson deserves a warm round of congratulations as she takes another step forward in her professional career.

Next weekend, she officiates in the European Challenge Cup match between Newcastle and Castres.

Hollie follows Irish referee, Joy Neville, who was the first woman to referee a men’s European Challenge Cup match, and she will be joined by English referee, Sara Cox.

There is no reason why women cannot referee men’s matches, so it is good to see this beginning to take place.

Neville was the first women to take on a Television Match Official role in a men’s international late last year, so the barriers are gradually coming down.

Scotland used to have a great reputation for producing excellent referees. Jim Fleming, Ray Megson and Allan Hosie were all outstanding.

But it is 19 years since a Scot took charge of an international.

That will change in February when Mike Adamson, the former Scotland Sevens star, will be the man in the middle when England take on Italy in the Six Nations.

It is a shame that for such a long time, the international scene has not had a Scottish referee among its number.

In many respects, this is symptomatic of the decline in men playing the game itself, and many will

Role models like Hollie should be held up as shining lights

know that you have to have a thick skin to take on the role of a referee in rugby.

So Davidson’s appointment to referee the European Cup match, along with Adamson’s appointment to the Six Nations match, is a sign that something must be going well.

Behind Adamson are Ben Blain and Sam Grove-white, both of whom must be in line to step up to more senior matches very soon.

And there is no reason why Hollie Davidson should not be among their number, when the various bodies that chose the match officials meet to consider which referees to allocate to which international matches.

Breaking down the bastion of a male-dominated sport like rugby is going to take time, and it could be easy for Davidson to underestimate the role that she has to play.

In a week where it was announced that more women and girls are playing football and rugby than ever before, role models like Davidson should be held up as shining lights.

I hope that she enjoys her experience in among the sweat and grunt of men’s European rugby, and I hope that it is the first appointment of many for her in the men’s game.

Her reputation as a referee is obviously held high by those who assess the most-difficult job in rugby, so experiences like next weekend’s game are only going to add to her standing.

For her, the sky is the limit.