Portuguese Maria Heitor appointed assistant referee at Women's Rugby World Cup

Portuguese Maria Heitor has been appointed to the panel of assistant referees for the England 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, World Rugby announced yesterday, May 15, news received with “excitement” by the former international player.

The international referee will thus become the first Portuguese woman to join a refereeing team at a Rugby World Cup.

“Tears came to my eyes, I cried with joy for the second or third time in my life. It is an important appointment not only for me, but for Portuguese rugby and for all women and young people who would like to play or referee,” said the inspector of the Judicial Police in a statement.

In February 2023, when she was first appointed to the panel of assistants for the women's Six Nations tournament, Maria admitted that she would still like to be present at a World Cup, “even if it was as an assistant”.

But he acknowledged then, at 34 years old, that it would be a difficult goal “due to age”.

“I thought that maybe it wouldn’t happen, especially because I’m one of the oldest in the group of nominees. But it went well physically,” she said.

Now, the former Sporting and Benfica player aims to participate “in a quarter-final match”, especially because, just like in the men's World Cup, “after that the assistant referees leave” and only the main referees remain, who also start to perform the functions of linesman.

Before the World Cup, Maria Heitor will take part in “a one-week internship, curiously, in Portugal”, with the entire panel of judges appointed for England2025, but, before that, the focus is still on “the Portuguese championship games” and some “European sevens tournaments”.

Then, on August 15th, he leaves for England, a week before the start of the World Cup, from where he hopes to return only after September 14th, the day on which the quarter-finals end.

In addition to Maira Heitor, the panel of assistants for the next World Cup will include referees Jess Ling (Australia), Amelia Luciano (United States), Amber Stamp-Dunustan (Wales), Holly Wood (England) and Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe), as a substitute.

The panel of chief referees is comprised of Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Sara Cox (England), Ella Goldsmith (Australia), Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand), Aurélie Groizeleau (France), Lauren Jenner (Italy), Clara Munarini (Italy), Kat Roche (United States) and Hollie Davidson (Scotland).

The Scottish referee, with whom Maria Heitor has already teamed up on several occasions, made history at the Estádio do Restelo in 2022, by leading the first all-female refereeing team to officiate a men's international match, between Portugal and Italy.

In 2022, Maria Heitor became the first woman to direct the final of the Honor Division, the main competitive level of the sport in Portugal, a year after also doing so in the lower level.

The following year she was appointed, for the first time, to the panel of assistant referees for the women's Six Nations tournament, repeating the call in the following two years.

The Portuguese referee has also been appointed to several matches in the women's European Championship, as well as in the 'sevens' variant.

Maria Heitor also has a vast resume as a player in women's rugby, where she has won several national and international titles, including spells at Agronomia, Benfica, Loulé, Lille (France) and Sporting.

He won five national sevens championships, six Portuguese Cups, five Super Cups, four national championships in the top Portuguese league (among rugby 10, 13 and 15), two Iberian Cups and one French national championship.

The Women's Rugby World Cup will be held in England between 22 August and 27 September.

It will be contested by England, Australia, United States, Samoa (Group A), Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji (Group B), New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain (Group C), France, Italy, South Africa and Brazil (Group D).