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Wed 25 Mar 2015 | 09:39
Midweek Madness - Nigel Owens puts Chris Robshaw in his place

10
Comments

Famed for his no-nonsense attitude to officiating, referee Nigel Owens was evidently fed up with England captain Chris Robshaw's persistent attempts to influence his decisions during England's 55-35 win over France at Twickenham on Saturday.

In the 72nd minute Robshaw made an effort to draw Owens' attention to an incident where he clearly believed a French player to be at fault. After replying with his opinion on the situation, Owens was unimpressed with Robshaw's continued endeavours to change his mind.

In a school teacher tone of voice, Owens flashed the England skipper a serious look and said, "Christopher," after which Robshaw quickly apologised with "Sorry sir," and the game continued.
 
The incident is highly amusing, but also a fantastic advert for the respect shown to match officials in the sport. Whilst it may appear the England leader is pestering Owens, he isn't acting far outside the remit of any other international captains, and is quick to make amends and apologise for his actions when aware he's overstepped the mark.

Some of the most successful leaders of all time, such as Martin Johnson and Richie McCaw, are famed for their ability to mediate a match by influencing refereeing decisions and winning favour with the officials – the trick is knowing when to stop however, a mistake Robshaw won't likely make again.

WIN A CHRIS ROBSHAW SIGNED ENGLAND RUGBY JERSEY

View more of Owens sorting out players, including 30 players at once, in the Related Posts below

Posted By: mattmon10

10 Comments

  • marty
    5:57 PM 27/03/2015

    awesome

  • danknapp
    8:55 AM 27/03/2015

    Pete, create a proper account and stick around. This is a quality post.

  • jimmy23
    11:39 AM 26/03/2015

    It'll be a sad, sad day in world rugby when this chap retires from being a referee, may his career long continue!

  • kadova
    8:45 PM 25/03/2015

    Denis ?
    That's said, Nigel Owens is my fav referee !

  • elvis15
    6:16 PM 25/03/2015

    If he'd known Robshaw's middle name, he really would have been in trouble.

  • stroudos
    3:10 PM 25/03/2015

    Of course, Robshaw's point wasn't helped by the three Englishmen "lying around on the floor" right in front of him and Owens as he made his complaint.....

  • stroudos
    1:19 PM 25/03/2015

    Hat-tip to Rory Kockott here too. Keeps the big lad away from the ref when he looked like he might be planning to having a word, then the little tap on Robshaw's shoulder and reminder to "let the ref referee the game" may have just been enough to make Owens think it was time to stamp his authority a bit. Not that Owens needs any help in that respect, but it was a useful mental nudge.

    Sort of undermined Robshaw a bit, in a cheeky scrumhalf kind of way - reminded me a bit of George Gregan a while ago, (Are you the ref mate? I thought he was).

  • danknapp
    12:57 PM 25/03/2015

    Nigel Owens is right at the top of his game at the moment. He has such effortless control of most games he referees. I think he's done really well not to overwhelm a lot of games with his personality. It would be easy to crack jokes all the time with his sense of humour, but instead he just seems like an old-fashioned teacher. Friendly, but not friends. I really like that.

    This exchange also highlights one of the best principles in rugby, which is that you do what you are told by the referee. Long may it continue.

  • sunjuggler
    12:03 PM 25/03/2015

    Not a big deal, Chris doing his job and Nigel doing his.

  • mise
    11:12 AM 25/03/2015

    oh that's good. Full first name as an expression of authority. :-)

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