Nigel Owens' shock secret: He was threatened with 2019 World Cup selection axe
Veteran referee Nigel Owens has revealed he was threatened with the 2019 World Cup selection axe by Alain Rolland, the World Rugby 15s high performance match officials manager who is quitting that role at the end of this month.
Having refereed the 2015 World Cup final, Owens was confidently looking ahead to gaining selection to officiate at his fourth finals when he was given a severe warning that he might not be selected for Japan 2019 as his performances were deemed to be not up to scratch.
Rolland, the 2011 World Cup final referee who gained notoriety in Wales for sending off Sam Warburton in the semi-finals that year versus France, risked a further avalanche of criticism if he followed through on his threat to jettison the hugely popular Owens.
However, the matter never came to a head as Owens agreed with Rolland that he had on occasion let his standards slip and would work hard to rectify those failings ahead of the finals in Japan, a tournament where he went on to take charge of the classic New Zealand vs England semi-final.
Writing in his weekly walesonline.com column, Owens revealed how Rolland’s warning was as welcome as the criticism he had received in 2014 from Joel Jutge, the previous referees manager. That rebuke six years ago became the catalyst for improved consistency that resulted in Owens being appointed for the 2015 final between New Zealand and Australia.
Nigel Owens reveals he was warned he'd be pulled from 2019 World Cup if performances didn't improve as he pays tribute to departing Alain Rolland
Full column from @Nigelrefowens : https://t.co/xyVg73g6Aq pic.twitter.com/0XRuAxKLUh
— WalesOnline Rugby (@WalesRugby) July 25, 2020
“Let me let you into another little secret,” wrote Owens, who was paying tribute in his column to Rolland’s work over the years. “Ahead of the appointments for last year’s World Cup, Alain pulled me to one side and told me a couple of my more recent performances were not up to my usual standard.
“And he was right. ‘Nige, you need to get back to your best. I’m not going to recommend you for the World Cup unless I’m convinced you’re still good enough to do knockout games’.
“Basically, he was saying he could take a more inexperienced official to referee the pool matches if necessary so they could get experience ahead of the 2023 tournament. He expected more from a senior figure like me. This was to be my fourth World Cup and I certainly wasn’t going there just to referee a couple of pool games.
“I told Alain that he didn’t actually need to tell me if I was good enough or not, I would know if I had started to consistently slip below the high standards I set and expect of myself. But I suppose every one of us needs that pep talk at some stage, whatever job we do. And this was my kick up the backside again – just like after that 2014 game.
“I resolved there and then to get back to my previous level and to make it as difficult as possible for Alain and his selection team not only to leave me out of the knockout games but also not to consider me for the final itself, even though I had done it previously.
“I knuckled down, ended up getting the big semi-final between New Zealand and England – which some pundits were saying was the best match at the tournament. It meant I was also one of the names on a piece of paper of the referees who could potentially do the final.
“Jerome Garces quite rightly was chosen and performed very well, as we expected from such a capable official. He has been one of the top referees in the game for a few seasons, with Wayne Barnes and Jaco Peyper, and I felt if someone else was good enough, they deserved to get the final before anyone does it a second time. Jerome was deserving of it, I was so pleased for him.”
Sudden vacancy… https://t.co/cddwBH8C5Z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 15, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments