Ireland v Italy referee Hollie Davidson was escorted off pitch and spat on in ugly scenes

Hollie Davidson will create history when she gets Ireland and Italy under way at the Aviva Stadium today

Ireland and Italy lock horns at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon in round two of the Six Nations.

The hosts arrive into this one licking their wounds following defeat to France in Paris on the opening night of the tournament.

Andy Farrell’s men were dominated by Les Bleus in the French capital and an ominous message has been sent out to the rest of the competition that France mean business.

The Italians, meanwhile, touch down in Dublin buoyed by the morale-boosting win over Scotland.

There will be a bit of Six Nations history created when the two teams take the field.

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Scottish official Hollie Davidson will become the first female to take charge of a men’s Six Nations game when she blows the whistle to kick off events in the Irish capital this afternoon.

Davidson, 33, who grew up in Aberdeenshire, was a scrum-half in her playing days, having been encouraged to take up the sport by her father.

She was called up for the Scotland U20 team in 2010 and later the senior squad but she was never capped, having suffered a dislocated shoulder.

She studied economic history at the University of Edinburgh and worked for banking giants JP Morgan after she graduated.

She embarked on her officiating path in 2015, and would take control of her maiden men’s fixture six years afterwards.

According to Rugby World, she took a 50 per cent pay cut to pursue her rugby dream.

Unfortunately, she revealed in an interview with the Guardian that abuse has been a constant throughout her career.

“The stuff shouted from the sidelines was ridiculous,” she said. “It was all about where I should be instead of a pitch or that I should be doing other things with my Saturday than refereeing a game. All the classics.

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“There would be indications of where I should go after the game for players to do whatever they wanted with me.”

Yet despite those who doubted her, Davidson pressed forward with her refereeing development, accumulating considerable recognition throughout.

She officiated her inaugural men’s match in 2021, though has still found herself subjected to abuse from detractors, despite cementing her status as a well-regarded official at elite level.

Online abusers launched vicious attacks following the European Challenge final between Bath and Lyon in Cardiff last season, with her relatives also becoming targets.

“I made a wrong call on a head contact and my name was being pulled through the mud and then my family received abuse,” she added. “It really challenged me when I thought I was causing my family pain.

“You have to accept this is part and parcel of our job. But I hope we don’t get to a point where the only people left at the top are the people that can hack it. Because then we don’t have the best officials, we just have the people with thicker skins.”

Nevertheless, she acknowledges that mistreatment and unpleasant incidents were present in the women’s game as well.

Reflecting on a Women’s Six Nations encounter between France and England in Bayonne during 2022, she recalled: “I prepped the same and went into the game physically feeling really good. But I missed a penalty try against England and a simple yellow card.

“Those two big decisions went against France. I wasn’t on the money and I received a lot of abuse and hatred. It was a tough time to say: ‘How do I pick myself up? When I’d done all my preparation in the same way, why did it not go well for me?’

“We were escorted off the pitch, we had stuff thrown at us and were spat on.”

She added: “You either decide: ‘This isn’t for me, bye-bye,’ or you say: ‘OK, I want to be at the top end. There are certain things I have to accept and certain growth areas that I need to be better at.’ I took that choice.”

Davidson admitted she was hit with a wave of excitement when she was told the news she would be getting a men’s Six Nations match this year.

“I was at home and I got a phone call from Joël Jutge, the referees’ manager,” she added. “We spoke about the Tests I’d done and I thought he was saying they were going to put me back as an assistant referee. But he said: ‘OK, I’ll share some news with you.’ There was a pause.

“Then he said: ‘You will be refereeing in the men’s Six Nations.’ An absolute wave of relief turned to excitement. He told me I’m doing Ireland versus Italy on 14 February and I said: ‘That’s absolutely fantastic.’ But it still had to be announced so I couldn’t tell anybody. I had to keep stumm for a week and a half.”