
Springboks get referee Hollie Davidson for season opener
Scottish referee Hollie Davidson will return to South Africa for the Springboks' first Test of the 2025 season when they take on Italy in Pretoria on Saturday, 5 July.
Davidson became the first female match official to take charge of a Bok Test last year against Portugal in Bloemfontein. Her appointment was confirmed by World Rugby on Thursday, along with the match officials for all the July internationals and the British & Irish Lions series in Australia.
Andrew Brace of Ireland (second Test against Italy on 12 July in Gqeberha) and Matthew Carley of England (Georgia Test on 19 July in Nelspruit) are the other two referees for the Springbok Tests in the Incoming Series.
Marius Jonker and Marius van der Westhuizen have been handed a number of Television Match Official (TMO) and Foul Play Review Official (FPRO) appointments for the series between the Wallabies and the British & Irish Lions in Australia.
Jonker will be the FPRO in the second Test in Melbourne, and the TMO in the third Test in Sydney and before that, when Samoa take on Scotland on 18 July.
Morne Ferreira, who will referee the Test between USA and Spain in Charlotte, North Carolina (12 July), has also been handed Assistant Referee (AR) duties on 27 June (Namibia v Italy in Windhoek), and 19 July (USA v England in Washington DC).
Aimee Barrett-Theron has one AR appointment – in Windhoek on 27 June – while Jonker is the TMO in the Namibian capital before Italy come to South Africa.
For all the appointments, CLICK HERE.
TBC: Springboks vs Barbarians, TBC, TBC5 July: Boks vs Italy, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria12 July: Springboks vs Italy, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha19 July: Boks vs Georgia, Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit16 August: Springboks vs Australia, Ellis Park, Johannesburg23 August: Boks vs Australia, DHL Stadium, Cape Town6 September: Springboks vs New Zealand, Auckland13 September: Boks vs New Zealand, Wellington27 September: Springboks vs Argentina, Kings Park, Durban4 October: Boks vs Argentina, London1 November: Springboks vs Wales, Cardiff8 November: Boks vs France, Paris15 November: Springboks vs Italy, Turin22 November: Boks vs Ireland, Dublin
*SA Rugby are working on adding two more Tests for the Springboks, likely to be against Japan and Portugal

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
Nortjé: Bulls in full Test mode for crucial URC semi-final against Sharks
Bulls skipper Ruan Nortjé says his side are preparing for their URC semi-final showdown with the Sharks like a Test match, emphasising focus, discipline and set-piece dominance ahead of Saturday's all-South African clash at Loftus. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Bulls captain Ruan Nortjé has acknowledged the mental and physical challenge posed by facing the Sharks in the upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final at Loftus Versfeld. Despite the Sharks' dramatic victory over Munster in the quarter-finals, Nortjé wants his side to remain focused on the task ahead, highlighting the importance of resilience and executing their gameplan on Saturday (6.15pm kick-off). 'When we reach the play-offs, we try to always get ourselves in the headspace of Test-match level preparation,' said Nortjé ahead of the clash. 'We had the same mentality against Edinburgh, and it will be more of the same this weekend. The fact that it is a South African derby just adds more fuel, excitement, and tension. So, we have to ensure that we are mentally prepared and get our game plan ready for what awaits.' Nortjé added that they cannot afford to switch off for even one minute or concede a yellow card. He highlighted lapses in concentration against Edinburgh, which allowed the Scottish club to mount a strong attack in the first half when the Bulls were down to 14 men. The Bulls trailed 21–8 at one stage, but their fightback underscored their championship credentials. However, he warned that they must be wary of the Sharks' scrum, which could provide a potent attacking platform. 'The Sharks were definitely brilliant scrum-wise last weekend. I think that's a massive part of what brought them through that game, so I must give them credit — the whole front row. It's definitely going to be a massive battle at the set-piece. "We can only prepare as well as we can and ensure we are ready when Saturday comes. We must be composed and make swift changes on the field — be ready for anything, and expect anything.' 'We are blessed to play in another semi-final. We know there are a lot of other teams that would also want to be in this position, and that are capable of being in the semi-final.' Apart from the forwards, he pointed to the Sharks' half-backs, Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse, as major threats, along with inside centre André Esterhuizen as their primary strike-runner. He knows the Durbanites thrive on unpredictability and moments of individual brilliance, making it essential for the Bulls to stay composed and disciplined. Nortjé stressed the need to trust their systems, rely on their set-piece strength, and not allow the Sharks' high tempo and creativity to disrupt their game plan. Maintaining focus and emotional control will be key to securing a place in the final.

IOL News
6 hours ago
- IOL News
SA Rugby in the pound seats as international rivals struggle to make ends meet
Saru CEO Rian Oberholzer was happy to report a R100m profit for the union this week. Photo: Supplied Image: Supplied South African rugby is set to buck the global trend and report a profit of more than R100 million for 2025, clearing 2024's losses and ensuring the 15 member unions receive their full funding, while support for the Springboks and all national teams continues unchecked. This good news emerged from the annual meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) in Cape Town on Thursday. Last year, South African rugby recorded a loss of R93 million due to its investment in northern hemisphere rugby competitions, but SA Rugby has already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025. This is in contrast to many rival countries, who are under severe financial pressure. Other international federations have lost as much as R913 million, with five other Tier One nations reporting losses of between R588 million and R181 million. The next 'best' performance after South Africa's was a loss of R126 million, members at the meeting were told. SA Rugby's continued investment into membership of northern hemisphere competitions led to a group loss in 2024, but the organisation had already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025 - more here: 👍 — Springboks (@Springboks) June 5, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said that participation in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) came at a net cost of R124 million in 2024. 'We have been investing in the long-term future of South African rugby to become full members of the URC for the best part of eight years,' said Oberholzer. 'It has come at a significant cost to the sport, but there is no doubt that it has been the right thing to do. 'Once we fulfil certain membership obligations this year, we will begin to reap the on- and off-field rewards of such investment. 'If we had not undertaken this journey, we would have been reduced to playing only domestic competitions, which would have had catastrophic high-performance as well as financial ramifications for rugby in South Africa. 'It has been a tough financial road, but we have annually outperformed our global peers since the pandemic, while taking on the unusual cost of our investment into the URC and EPCR. 'Reporting a loss can never be desirable, but the irony is that we are more than satisfied with our position,' said Oberholzer. 'We had budgeted for a loss in 2024 in the expectation that the members would approve the private equity transaction that they had sought, releasing funds to cover the deficit. 'When that did not happen, we continued with our planned commercial reset and other revenue generation plans, which have borne fruit. We are in the very rare position among our international peers of continuing to be debt-free and confident of posting a surplus in 2025.'


The Citizen
7 hours ago
- The Citizen
SA Rugby's financial future looking rosy
The South African Rugby Union (Saru) is set to buck the global trend and report a profit of more than R100m for 2025. South African rugby's continued investment in membership of northern hemisphere rugby competitions led to a R93m group loss in 2024, but the organisation had already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025, the annual meeting of Saru was told in Cape Town today. Saru's reported profit in 2025 would ensure the 15 member unions receive their full funding, while support of the Springboks and all national teams would continue unchecked. In the last reporting cycle, other international federations had lost as much as R913m, with five other tier-one nations reporting losses of between R588m and R181m. The next 'best' performance after South Africa's was a loss of R126m, members were told. SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said that the investment in participation in the Vodacom URC and European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) had come at a net cost of R124m in 2024. 'We have been investing in the long-term future of South African rugby to become full members of the URC for the best part of eight years,' said Oberholzer. 'It has come at a significant cost to the sport but there is no doubt that it has been the right thing to do. 'Once we fulfill certain membership obligations this year, we will begin to reap the on and off field rewards of such investment. 'If we had not undertaken this journey, we would have been reduced to playing only domestic competitions, which would have had catastrophic high performance as well as financial ramifications for rugby in South Africa. 'It has been a tough financial road, but we have annually outperformed our global peers since the pandemic, while taking on the unusual cost of our investment into URC and EPCR.' Oberholzer said the turnaround in 2025 was being achieved by a reformatting of SA Rugby's offering to partners, featuring enhanced rights at enhanced values, as well as the creation of a new commercial delivery model. Overall, in 2024, group commercial revenues exceeded R1.5b for the first time (R1.552b), up from R1.440b in 2023. Total income with the addition of grants (principally from World Rugby of R186m) took total income to R1.76b. Revenues for 2025 are forecast to exceed R2b. The 7.8% increase in revenues was attributable to increased broadcast revenues in a non-world cup year, competition sponsorships and a strong performance in merchandising receipts which more than doubled from R30m to R62m. Expenses increased from R1.816b to R1.871b. The 2.9% increase was put down to investment in hosting three World Rugby tournaments (R133m), a R24m increase in player image rights (to R148m) and the costs associated with the mooted private equity transaction (R13m). Total expenditure attributable to the northern hemisphere international franchise competition was R446m while SA Rugby was still able to make a full distribution to member unions. Spending on the No 1-ranked Springboks, and other national teams, was R433m, a reduction of R27m on the world cup winning year of 2023 (R460m). 'Reporting a loss can never be desirable but the irony is that we are more than satisfied with our position,' said Oberholzer. 'We had budgeted for a loss in 2024 in the expectation that the members would approve the private equity transaction that they had sought, releasing funds to cover the deficit. 'When that did not happen, we continued with our planned commercial reset, and other revenue generation plans, which have borne fruit. We are in the very rare position among our international peers of continuing to be debt-free and confident of posting a surplus in 2025.' ALSO: SA Rugby defends Bok ticket prices Oberholzer said the financial outlook beyond next year was equally healthy with strong revenues forecast for 2026 with new competition formats in the pipeline. 'The income that SA Rugby generates all goes back into supporting the growth and promotion of rugby in the country,' he said. 'It allows us to fund Springbok campaigns, expand women's rugby programmes and fuel our other national teams. It pays for our members' activities in their communities, as well as their professional teams. It underwrites our rugby safety programme BokSmart; supports referee and coaching development and our age group competitions, as well as development programmes and allows us turn on sell-out Test match entertainment and our domestic competitions. 'Ultimately, every rand that we earn goes into powering the game in some shape or form and after a challenging 2024 we have a good news story to tell our South African rugby community as we look ahead.' The post SA Rugby's financial future looking rosy appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal.