After Nigel Owens' most recent theatrics, where the Welsh referee yellow carded a ballboy, BBC Wales Sport have put together this very amusing compilation of some of his finest moments. Most of them you will have seen here before, but there are a few new laughs too.
Enjoy this look at one of the best, and most quick-witted, referees in the sport.
Nice
Well, Chris Ashton is never going to be a brain surgeon, is he?
What if they're women?
i agree with you 10stonenumber10 wholeheartedly. What I'm getting at is that it is great to have him as a role model. As a person who teaches teenagers, it's great to be able to show that who you are does not predetermine what you can be.
why is that DrG?
There should be no substitutes in rugby. In 1996 they started with 3 tactical subs and it has ballooned to 8 now. If they allow rolling subs players will grow to NFL size.
Disagree, how is telling someone not to behave like a child or like a soccer player bullying???
You say publicly shaming in front of 30k people?... I would bet my boots that Owens would say the exact same thing to two players on a windy cold Sunday morning game being spectated by one man and his dog and a bloke that has woken from his paralytic alcohol induced slumber from the night before.... Players are playing the game for their team and the shirt, not for the crowd, or the TV, or for RD... Everything else is consequential.
You mention career ending incidents, most of the fights players have are grappling and close cuddling shoving matches, if you're that pissed then throw a punch...As far as I am aware when Owens is actually punishing someone further than a penalty, he tends not to use many words... So, pissed off? Hit the guy and you won't have to endure insults...
I'm fine and I agree with that, just so long as homosexuals don't begin sentences with "as a gay man,...."
Sexuality has nothing to do with it. If you choose to define others by their sexuality rather than purpose/passion, you aren't seeking equity or equality, you are part of the problem.
It is like a "Female DJ/MC", "Bisexual Boxer", "Lesbian UFC Champion". You might as well say "They are good, for a..." It is completely wrong. It isn't an illness, or disability, it doesn't affect performance. I find stories of athletes with Down's Syndrome/Cerebral Palsy/Cancer more inspiring.
99.9% of the Rugby Universe, couldn't care less about what Sir Nige does off the field. If anything, it would be homophobic of us to put him on a criticism-free pedestal. He's a man. He bleeds the same red you and I do, male, female, trans, fa'afafine, or any other. Sometimes he is funny, sometimes he is David Brent. We all drop cringey clangers, and that is why he is awesome.
Rugby needs characters. Rock on Nige.
as a gay man in a very straight world, he holds his own! [and no, don't follow this with a 'holds his own what?' :-]
Damn. That language of yours is horribly tricky.
Where has all the heresy on this thread come from?
How dare these people be critical of Nigel Owens!?
I've never heard such nonsense.
Be thankful for the majestic way Sir Nige rules his matches.
Behold his one-liners with joy and reverence.
Repent now for having had the temerity to question his impartiality, you hideous bunch of ingrates.
For shame!!
This is not criticism, it is blasphemy! Repent!
All hail His Excellency!
HAIL!!
I've contemplated exactly that a few times myself! I reckon it would be a good second-best...
I take your point Mr Gard, but Owens is first and foremost a brilliant ref, who does indeed blow the whistle as little as possible and lets the players play. The fact he is a funny bastard as well is just secondary.
Did i just read a dailymail sport page?
With the same token, there are ways of doing it without reducing athletes to children. It is down right patronising, and as has been proven, it has the potential to enrage and escalate a player's reaction.
You've just been hit high and late. The ref missed it. He cracks a joke trying to make you look like a tit in front of 30,000 people for reacting to potentially career-ending foul play... knowing he can say whatever he likes, because he has a yellow or a red if you don't like it. It is baiting a reaction through public humiliation. Last time I checked, public humiliation is bullying, not banter.
All I am saying, is that while it is funny, he has to pick who he banters with more carefully. "British Prep School Headmaster Humour" means f*ck all to 75% of the rugby universe
Nope, British. It's short for Association (soccer) Football, the proper name of the OTHER sport.
and don't forget we smell of garlic!
(bad night yesterday Dr??)
I'm a little tired of the French bitching about everyone but themselves. You guys have done a pretty good job highlighting your shite discipline over the years, including but not limited to D2 - Naturally the retort will be some sort of reminiscent reminder of every other nations dark moments but I dare say French rugby as a breeding ground attracts some pretty unsavoury things, whether they're as a result of French influence on players of all nations there, or all nations there on French players will remain to be debated.
Secondly, referees costing you matches, I don't disagree the French have been on the shitty end of a few sticks, as have MANY nations, the Pacific islanders spring to mind, the RWC final in NZ being one harrowing tale of French ruin... However I seem to recall a fair few moaning Kiwis talking about some forward pass or something in the NZ V FRA match a few years prior..So perhaps like other nations, you get your fair share of shit calls that go your way!
And lastly but not least, perhaps it's best be to direct your dismay and loss of direction towards your own World XV clubs that are doing their best to bring in world class players in their twilight years to be paid obscene amounts of money, snort a bit of coke, enjoy the weather, drink some wine and slowly fade into the book of legends whilst allowing the local crowd to cheer for their as they bring home yet another trophy for a club they have very little attraction to bar the whopping paychecks...THESE are the club's that are leaving the young French prospects to fight for some sort of limelight which ultimately manifests into a rocky international team with piss poor management and ideals that involve bringing back some legend from the deep (Michalak in this case) whilst pushing aside fantastic capable players of tomorrow..
...But you're right... Nigel Owens is to blame..That I'm sure..
Actually, I see 1010 has somewhat alluded to it, but it's a very good point, when a couple bits guys are trying to show how big and tough and manly they are, it's probably incredibly de-escalating to have a bloke like Nige to go full headmaster/school teacher and tell you to stop behaving like children.... What's the come back from that?! "Well he started it"?... Any further action or noise merely validates Owens initial statement....Best reaction is an on field legal challenge or turn the energy for your mouth and fists into points on the board instead.
Glen Jackson is a quality ref too.
Are there any freely available referee statistics around? It would be interesting to see their averages... penalties called, cards given, total advantage time played etc.
I know they are supposed to be unbiased, but some definitely let the game flow more than others
Sod it, I am going to train to be a referee. If I start now, i will be in with a shout of representing my country at RWC2023, albeit in a slightly different manner
Sir Nige is a good laugh.
I have said it before though, it does not translate across all cultures. 30 men committing GBH in a 50x100m rectangle, not 30 naughty children in the playground.
Some people see him as David Brent with a whistle, not everything has to be a joke, and it can distract players.
Referees are too nice. Rugby needs a Pierluigi Collina, when it comes to on-field discipline, a little fear goes a long way.
If we spent as much time and energy on our career as we did commenting here.... well, I probably would be doing better than stacking 200kg boxes 8 hours a day
More words written here than in all public examinations combined.
I think it adds to the game. Games refereed by Owens are usually good to watch even if you leave out the quips and telling offs he is well known for. It never descends into endless penalties and scrums, and instead of penalising players he tells them what he wants, particularly at the ruck, to allow the game to continue.
hey wait a sec! I thought soccer was an american word??
Well then if an international referee is clearly showing a biased against a certain country then that surely warrants some kind of investigation no?
I'm a little tired of arguing about something so obvious in my eyes, so I'll just copy and paste here a comment I saw on the Guardian website, by an obviously non-French viewer of the latest France Ireland game:
"Sexton and Murray nailing down the Lions 9 & 10.
Nigel Owens continuing in his one man campaign to make France withdraw from international rugby during the second half...."
When asked to justify that statement, he went on:
"The scrum in front of the posts with the entire Irish pack on the deck while the French held perfect form which he refused to even turn his towards.
The penalty advantage he gave for a tip tackle which he didn't bother to review (but he did review a neck roll at the next stoppage).
The breakdown stuff is contentious but that's the nature of the game. Those two decisions are impossible to justify in any way. The French believe that Owens has bias against their clubs and national side and it's hard to disagree with them on the evidence today."
I have nothing to add, except I totally agree with FineDisregard below. The ref should never be the focal point.
You think he'll marry you?
I'll be miss Nigel when he eventually retires
...So the referee is higher than the substitutes?
When even props have highlight reels, I don't think we can argue with Owen's.
All I will say Colombes is this. Owens has been a ref for almost 20 years and you've picked 6 incidents, I'm sure you looked hard enough you could find 6 incidents with any referee that have made a call which seem dodgy towards any nationality.
Rugby referees have an incredibly difficult job and I don't feel referees have anywhere near the amount of bad games as people like to claim they do. Rugby is a complex game and referees are only human. Mistakes will happen and I always believe that they end up evening themselves out anyway.
To be fair, i like nigel owens as a ref and he seems a friendly lad.
but, for good or bad reasons, he's not appreciated by french fans. In stadium or bar, when he appears on the screen, you can hear things like "ok, it will harder than expected"
Why? I think this idea takes its origin from the erc final 2008 (the one with pelous kick-ass) when toulouse players and manager were circonspect by his decisions.
So there is a lot of subjectivity here, but the recent owens perf with french sides didn't help. My view on these incidents:
1- Nigel Owens was just next to the incident and Simmons number could be seen on 2 different camera angles. Tmo miscommunication, maybe..
2- He could also have let Imhoff score, and then check with the tmo and confirm or cancel the try! but no, he blew and excused himself for his mistake... leicester scored on the next possession.
3- It was maybe a penalty, but no way a try could have been scored by a sarrie. very very harsh.
4- It was one of the last year 6N debate. I continue to believe the problem was not Vunipola block, but the unintentional contact between both players which should have been a free kick. But Owens kept his idea, his choice, really.
5- Can't really blame Owens as Pelous reaction was stupid, especially as a captain. But Quinlan stepping on Pelous foot and the simulation was speechless to rewatch when you know owens "it's not football" view.
6- Owens can't have eyes in his back, yes. but could have asked a tmo, he didn't.
Hey ref you are #31 not #1. Just call the game, blow the whistle as little as possible and let the players play. We don't need your attention-seeking personality to shine through.
No referee in any sport should have a highlight reel.
To be fair, I began this whole thing with a sarky comment about conspiracy theories, however to answer the things you pointed out:
First video - Referees don't see everything, if there was no way of seeing the number then how could he have sent a player off? Could he have identified a player by appearance alone? No distinguishing features such as a bright scrum cap or something like that...
Second video - Looked like the Racing player was away - BUT to me it looked like he knocked it on, are referees allowed to award a try if they cock up and blow the whistle? Seems like he blew the whistle so other players could argue they didn't chase... Referees routinely get in the way, or players run close to them - so it's another thing you'd expect, whistle blow, restart.
Third video - Attempts to catch in first instant - knocks ball backwards with back of hand or wrist and into touch - harsh, but there was no way he could have caught it with the back of his hand...
Fourth video - Can't watch it, some French conspiracy has made it unavailable...
Fifth video - Kicks a bloke up the arse - Looks like Quinlan milked it, so I'd be happy for him to be carded too, but aside from what that idiot Barnes said, why wouldn't that be a yellow??
Sixth video - I'm a massive advocate of players dishing out their own punishment when being pulled or held, so I personally don't see anything wrong with a player doing it - REGARDLESS of nationality.. However Nige missed this one, you can see he looks away just before the hit - I'd say this is a touch judge at fault not him...
Sorry, i could not resist ;)
I will never buy "the conspiracy theory for dumb fans"
But i personally remember these decisions welcomed with a french sarcastic smile. #subjectivity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmdv8vnHu28
https://youtu.be/-nf-v3bxXPI?t=1h42m26s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=085kfEZwqbA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuoa3wVsNxg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMPoXfk3lm0
Doesn't happen, it's a conspiracy theory...
Is there a "Nigel Owens being 'biased' against the French" compilation?
:P