Teagarden makes history

Dana Teagarden of the USA is about to make rugby history. She is the first woman to be appointed by the International Rugby Board to referee a senior men's Test. It is a huge breakthrough for women referees.

Dana, an experienced referee, has been appointed to referee the Test between the Netherlands and Hong Kong in Amsterdam on 18 December 2010. It is an International Rugby Board appointment.

In 2007 in San Diego, California, Dana was the first, and so far only, woman to referee at an IRB Sevens World Series Tournament. She refereed the Plate Final between Chile and Argentina. To date, Dana has refereed sixteen international level 15s matches, including age-grade boys and girls, senior women, and A-level senior men.

This year she refereed at the Women's Rugby World Cup in England

The USA's manager of the national panel referees, South African Richard Every said: "We are constantly working to establish and implement new and innovative systems and processes to develop all aspects of refereeing.

"Dana has been an integral part of these developments over the past three years and combined with her innate talent have enabled her to perform and be successful at the highest levels. This appointment is indeed a huge honor and achievement for both Dana and USA Rugby Referees."

Ed Todd, the USA's Director of Referee Development, said: "USA Rugby is both happy and proud to publicly acknowledge Dana's achievement. I am confident there will be many more opportunities for me to congratulate Dana on a job well done."

Dana said: "I'm of course chuffed to get the opportunity to referee the Hong Kong vs Netherlands match. Any time you get to be part of an international it's a special occasion."

* Gabriel Lee (Wing-Yi) of Hong Kong refereed Kyrgyzstan vs Mongolia in Uzbekistan in the 2009 Asian Five Nations Regional Tournament.

That was the first occasion that a woman refereed a senior men's Test. She was appointed by the Asian Rugby Football Union, not the IRB.