1
Nigel Owens and the reason why is he uniquely being allowed to referee Wales on Saturday
Nigel Owens has World Rugby officials in Dublin to thank for their permission to allow him to referee his native Wales when they take on the Barbarians on Saturday at Principality Stadium.
ADVERTISEMENT
Neutral referees have long been the norm on the international rugby circuit but the Welsh Rugby Union asked – and received – the go-ahead to have Owens take charge of his native country on a one-off occasion that will celebrate Warren Gatland’s twelve-year stint in charge of Wales.
Gatland is taking charge of the Barbarians in the fixture versus the now Wayne Pivac-coached Wales and Owens will experience the moment of a lifetime – being on the whistle for a match involving the men in red.
He is not the first to do so, mind. When Test rugby began in the 1800s the tradition was for the host country to appoint the referee. Also, Derek Bevan was bestowed the same honour as Owens will receive, refereeing Wales in a fixture versus the Barbarians.
Bevan was in charge in 2000 and his fellow Welshman now bridges that 19-year gap in an era where World Rugby now control the appointment of all match officials.
(Continue reading below…)
Explaining the unusual situation, the WRU said: “A further unique move will see Welsh refereeing royalty Nigel Owens officiate a match involving his native country for the first time in his career – after receiving special dispensation from World Rugby.”
This allowance was favourably received by Owens, who revealed in his walesonline.com column on Saturday ahead of the match that it will be a special day for him. “It’s not every afternoon you are handed the opportunity to referee your own country in a Test match,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I feel honoured, although let me stress one thing – Wales, or not, I will be refereeing this match as I would any other. With complete impartiality. On the day, they will be the team in red to me, not Wales.
Struggling Welsh region Ospreys have boldly predicted a radical shake-up happening soon to the PRO14 and Premiership leagueshttps://t.co/TsTdAFW8s7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 30, 2019
“But there is no denying it is a wonderful opportunity and I’ve had to get about 50 tickets for family and people wanting to come up from my home area of Mynyddcerrig to support me, who normally don’t get this kind of chance as I obviously tend to be elsewhere in Europe, or the world, on international day.”
He added: “Do you know one of the moments I’m most looking forward to? Around 2.40pm, a few minutes before kick-off when I will be standing there with the teams, the Welsh anthem being sung by the players and 60,000-plus fans inside the stadium. And I will be there blasting it out as loudly, and proudly, as any of them. Too right I will. I love our anthem.”
Refereeing a match at the Principality Stadium, though, isn’t a first for Owens with the 2008 Heineken Cup final and 2015 World Cup fixtures between Ireland-France and New Zealand-France among his appointments in a stellar career.
ADVERTISEMENT
WATCH: Warren Gatland on what it will be like taking on his old team Wales this weekend as Barbarians coach
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
12 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
12 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
5 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
5 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments