Meet the first woman to take charge of a Six Nations match when Ireland face Italy

The 33-year-old Scot has overcome misogyny and abuse and is justifiably proud of becoming the first woman to take charge of a men’s Six Nations match.

HISTORY MAKER: Referee Hollie Davidson reviews a TMO decision during a Munster match. Pic: Tyler Miller/Sportsfile.

"I probably stood out like a sore thumb,” says Hollie Davidson as she reflects on the long hard road she has travelled to reach the point where, on Saturday, in Dublin, she will become the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations game.

Davidson leans forward in her chair and ticks off some of the doubts she has had to overcome amid derision and prejudice.