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Nigel Owens

March 11, 2023

Nigel Owens, MBE (born 18 June 1971) is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international referees listed as professional within the Welsh Rugby Union, alongside Craig Evans, Adam Jones, Dan Jones, and Ben Whitehouse.[1]

Nigel Owens
MBE
Owens officiating a 2014 United Rugby Championship match
Birth nameNigel Owens
Date of birth (1971-06-18) 18 June 1971 (age 51)
Place of birthMynyddcerrig, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Occupation(s)Rugby union referee
Rugby union career
Refereeing career
Years Competition Apps
2001–2020
2002–2020
2002–2020
2003–2020
2007–2019
2015
2019		 Challenge Cup
Heineken/Champions Cup
Pro14
Test matches
Rugby World Cup
RWC Finals
RWC Finals		 9
98
149
100

1
3
Correct as of 19 October 2019

Owens is also known as a television personality, as one of the presenters of the S4C Welsh language chat shows Jonathan and Bwrw'r Bar ('Hitting the Bar'). Owens also hosts his own quiz programme Munud i Fynd ('A Minute to Go'). At the 2011 Eisteddfod Genelaethol, he was made a member of the Gorsedd of Bards.

Early life

Owens was born and raised in the village of Mynyddcerrig, near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire, Wales. He is a fluent Welsh speaker. He was a school technician at Ysgol Gyfun Maes-yr-Yrfa [cy] in Llanelli, the same school attended by Welsh international Dwayne Peel, and was a youth worker with Menter Cwm Gwendraeth. Before that he worked on a farm, for over a year, as a farmhand.[2]

Refereeing career

Owens started refereeing in 1987, after his sports teacher John Beynon suggested he take up refereeing after a school game. His first game was an under-15s match between Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire at the age of 16.

Owens made his European debut during the 2000–01 European Challenge Cup season, refereeing London Irish and Piacenza on 21 January 2001. In October 2001, Owens was one of the first three Welsh Rugby Union professional referees.[3] He made his debut in Europe's Heineken Cup, refereeing Calvisano and Perpignan, on 12 January 2002. Owens made his Celtic League debut on 30 August 2002, refereeing Border Reivers and Connacht.

Owens was a regular referee on the International Rugby Board World Sevens Series circuit between 2002 and 2005.[4] On 16 February 2003, Owens had his first 15-a-side international appointment, refereeing the second-tier match Portugal v Georgia during the 2003–04 European Nations Cup First Division. In 2005, Owens earned his first International Rugby Board appointment, when he was appointed to the first test of the Irish tour of Japan in Osaka.[5] During the 2005/06 season, Owens became a regular appointment at both Celtic League and Heineken Cup level, making six appearances during the 2005–06 Heineken Cup.

Owens was appointed to his first play-off/knock-out rugby match on 23 April 2006, when he refereed the 2005–06 European Challenge Cup semi-final between Newcastle Falcons and London Irish. During the 2006–07 European Challenge Cup, he refereed a semi-final and the final. He also refereed the 2006–07 Heineken Cup quarter-final between London Wasps and Leinster on 31 March 2007. That same year, he refereed his first Six Nations Championship game, England v Italy, and his first Tri Nations game, New Zealand v Australia. On 11 September 2007, Owens made his Rugby World Cup debut in the match between Argentina and Georgia in Lyon, France. He was the only Welsh referee during the 2007 Rugby World Cup, where he refereed three pool-stage matches.[6]

Owens refereed in all six rounds of the 2007–08 Heineken Cup pool stage and was appointed to a quarter-final, semi-final and the final, becoming the third Welsh referee to referee a Heineken Cup final.[7] The following year he refereed nine games, including a quarter-final (the infamous Bloodgate game),[8] semi-final and the final, becoming the third referee to referee a Heineken Cup final more than once and the second to referee two consecutive Heineken Cup finals.[9] On 16 June 2009, as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, Owens refereed the match between the Lions and the Southern Kings.[10]

During the 2010/11 season, Owens was appointed to three play-off/knock-out matches; 2010–11 Heineken Cup quarter-final, 2010–11 European Challenge Cup semi-final and the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final. He later officiated at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, which included an appointment to a quarter-final match, New Zealand v Argentina. He was also appointed to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final as one of the assistant referees.[11]

Owens refereed his third Heineken Cup final at the 2012 Heineken Cup Final between Leinster and Ulster.[12]

In 2013, Owens refereed his 100th Pro12 game and became the most-appointed Welsh referee at international level, overtaking Derek Bevan. During the 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup he became the most-appointed referee at European Rugby Champions Cup/Heineken Cup level with 80 appointments, overtaking Alain Rolland. He also officiated at that season's final between Clermont and Toulon, before refereeing the 2015 Pro12 Grand Final.[13] The 2015 Pro12 final was his third time refereeing the Pro12 final, having refereed the 2011 and 2014 Pro12 Grand Final.[14]

Owens was on the 12-man referee panel for the 2015 Rugby World Cup where he was appointed to three pool stage matches, including the France v Ireland clash at the Millennium Stadium, which was the first time Owens refereed an international match at the Welsh home stadium.[15] Owens refereed two more World Cup tests, one of which was the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia.[16] He became the second Welsh referee to referee a World Cup Final, after Derek Bevan took charge of the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final. Owens won the World Rugby Referee Award at the 2015 World Rugby Awards.[17]

On 3 November 2015, he announced that he intended to keep refereeing international rugby for another four years.[18]

On 5 March 2016, Owens launched the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying process, refereeing the first qualification match, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v Jamaica in Arnos Vale.[19] Later that year, Owens became the most-capped rugby referee when he took charge of the Fiji-Tonga clash in Suva, overtaking Jonathan Kaplan's record of 70 tests.[20]

On 15 April 2017, Owens made his 150th Pro12 appearance when he took charge of the Judgement Day clash between Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets.[21] On 28 November 2020, Owens refereed his 100th international match in the Autumn Nations Cup game between France and Italy, becoming the first referee to reach the landmark. Two weeks later, he announced his immediate retirement from international duty, saying "Nobody has a divine right to go on forever," but expressed a desire to continue refereeing club matches in the Pro14 and at club level in Wales.[22]

Outside rugby

Owens is also known as a television personality, as one of the presenters of the S4C Welsh language chat shows Jonathan and Bwrw'r Bar ("Hitting the Bar").[23][24] Owens also hosts his own quiz programme Munud i Fynd ("A Minute to Go").[25]

Owens has a cattle farm in his home village, Mynyddcerrig.[26] In January 2021, he was featured on the BBC agricultural programme Countryfile.[27]

His autobiography, Hanner Amser ("Half Time"), was published in Welsh in 2008, then in English in 2009.[28][29] On 24 July 2017, Owens presented a Panorama documentary about men and eating disorders. In it, he opened up about his own experiences with bulimia and how it has affected his life, highlighting his refereeing of the Rugby World Cup as a significant trigger.[30]

In February 2017, Owens was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs,[31] during which he revealed to presenter Kirsty Young that before accepting his sexuality he had asked a doctor if he could be chemically castrated.[32]

On 25 March 2021 Owens was a panellist on BBC's Question Time. When asked about the flying of the Union Jack on public buildings, he said that the flag "should not be mandated on anybody" and suggested "if you force issues on people then you are going to have people rebel against it."[33]

In February 2022, Owens was named as a commentator for S4C in the 2022 Six Nations Championship.[34]

Owens appears in the mid-morning BBC Radio 5 Live programme by Scott Mills and Chris Stark. In "Real Life TMO", he referees on domestic and trivial arguments presented by listeners.[citation needed]

Personal life

In May 2007, Owens publicly came out as gay in an interview with Wales on Sunday. Reaction was mostly supportive.[35] Owens said that coming out was a difficult decision, and that he had contemplated suicide when he was 26.[36]

It's such a big taboo to be gay in my line of work, I had to think very hard about it because I didn't want to jeopardise my career. Coming out was very difficult and I tried to live with who I really was for years. I knew I was 'different' from my late teens, but I was just living a lie.[36]

Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Owens was named 'Gay Sports Personality of the Year' at gay rights group Stonewall's awards ceremony in London.[37] He was a patron of the LGBT Centre of Excellence Wales, until its disbandment in late 2012, but he is still patron of the Wooden Spoon Society rugby charity. In 2013 Owens became a patron of Bullies Out charity in Wales.[38] Owens was subjected to racist and anti-gay abuse when refereeing England and New Zealand in November 2014.[39] This was reported by a fan and resulted in the two spectators responsible being banned from Twickenham for two years.[40] In 2015, Owens was named 'Gay Sports Personality of the Decade' at Stonewall awards ceremony in London.[41] He was named on the 2017 Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures.[42] In a 2019 interview with Wales Online, he admitted he once ordered a date to hide in the toilets at Pizza Hut when Wales international Dwayne Peel and his girlfriend walked in. In Dublin, for the launch of Europe's largest LGBT+ inclusive rugby tournament, Owens was speaking about his own experiences and the difficulty of coming out as gay while working in sport.[43]

In 2011 he was made a member of the Gorsedd of Bards.[44][45] In the 2016 Birthday Honours, Owens was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport,[46] and was awarded an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University in July of the same year.[2] Owens has served as secretary, chairman and president of the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs[47] and is a fan of Wrexham Football Club.[48]

His long-term partner is Barrie Jones-Davies, a primary school teacher from Llandovery. In October 2019, Jones-Davies joined Owens in Tokyo to support him during the Rugby World Cup.[49]

References

  1. ^ "International Referees". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b Di Cara, Nina (15 July 2016). "Honorary Fellow: Nigel Owens MBE". cardiff.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  3. ^ WalesOnline (31 October 2001). "Professional refs". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Rugby365 Craig Joubert: Beyond the field". rugby365.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Nigel Owens – Personally Speaking Bureau". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  6. ^ . icWales. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  7. ^ "EPCR - European Professional Club Rugby". epcrugby.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  8. ^ "'Bloodgate' referee Nigel Owens regrets not checking Harlequins' Tom Williams". telegraph.co.uk. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  9. ^ "NIGEL OWENS TO REFEREE HEINEKEN CUP FINAL". leinsterrugby.ie. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  10. ^ "IRB confirm referees for Lions tour". en.espn.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Craig Joubert to take charge of World Cup final - Rugby World". ugbyworld.com. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  12. ^ "Nigel Owens to referee Heineken Cup final - Rugby Week - Rugby News, Rugby Video & Fixtures". rugbyweek.com. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  13. ^ Bywater, Alex (21 April 2015). "Welsh referee Nigel Owens to take charge of European Champions Cup final". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  14. ^ Southcombe, Matthew (25 May 2015). "Nigel Owens to referee of Guinness Pro12 final". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  15. ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Match officials announced for Rugby World Cup 2015". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Rugby World Cup: Nigel Owens confirmed as final referee". bbc.co.uk/. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  17. ^ Rogers, Gareth (2 November 2015). "Nigel Owens wins World Rugby Referee Award at post-World Cup ceremony". Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  18. ^ "Nigel Owens: World Cup final referee to continue until 2019 - BBC Sport". Bbc.co.uk. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2019: Nigel Owens to referee first qualifier". bbc.co.uk/. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  20. ^ Abbandonato, Paul (10 June 2016). "Nigel Owens becomes rugby world record-breaker as he takes charge of 71st Test". walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Nigel Owens to make 150th Championship Appearance". 11 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  22. ^ "Nigel Owens: Referee announces retirement after 100 Test matches". The Independent. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  23. ^ "S4C Sport - Nigel Owens". www.s4c.cymru. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  24. ^ WalesOnline (29 May 2009). "Bwrw'r Bar". Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Munud i Fynd - BBC - S4C". BBC. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  26. ^ Hill, Owen (12 August 2020). "Top rugby referee Nigel Owens kicks off his farming venture". Farmers Weekly.
  27. ^ "Countryfile". bbc.co.uk. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  28. ^ "Hanner Amser - Hunangofiant Nigel Owens" [Half Time - Nigel Owens autobiography]. walesonline.co.uk. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  29. ^ "Hanner Amser by Nigel Owens, published by Y Lolfa". ylolfa.com. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  30. ^ "Men, Boys & Eating Disorders". BBC iPlayer. BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  31. ^ Presenter: Kirsty Young Producer: Paula McGinley (5 February 2017). "Nigel Owens". Desert Island Discs. BBC. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  32. ^ "Rugby ref Nigel Owens asked to be chemically castrated". BBC News Online. BBC. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  33. ^ "Question Time - 2021: 25/03/2021". BBC Iplayer.
  34. ^ "Six Nations star-studded pundits line-ups revealed as ITV get twice as many games as BBC". WalesOnline. February 2022.
  35. ^ "Nigel Owens offers advice to the football referee who has retired after suffering homophobic abuse". Off the Ball. from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  36. ^ a b Bevan, Nathan (20 May 2007). . Wales on Sunday. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
  37. ^ "World Cup rugby ref's gay award". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 November 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  38. ^ Owens, Nigel (3 July 2014). "Nigel Owens: Football and rugby could benefit from one captain's challenge per match...and why Luis Suarez MUST issue a sincere apology". Wales Online. Media Wales. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  39. ^ Wilson, Keith (8 November 2014). "Shamed by bigoted England rugby fans at All Blacks game". theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  40. ^ "Two given Twickenham ban for homophobic abuse of referee Nigel Owens during England v New Zealand". telegraph.co.uk. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  41. ^ "Ref Nigel Owens is Stonewall's sportsperson of decade". bbc.co.uk. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  42. ^ "Pinc List 2017". Wales Online. 19 August 2017.
  43. ^ Sands, Katie (9 April 2019). "The night Nigel Owens hid his date from Wales rugby star in a toilet". walesonline. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  44. ^ "Gorsedd honour for Gillian Clarke and Nigel Owens". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  45. ^ Pickup, Oliver (13 November 2014). "Nigel Owens target of homophobia: 12 things you might not have known about the Welsh international referee". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  46. ^ "No. 61608". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 June 2016. p. B22.
  47. ^ "Rugby ref Nigel takes over as YFC president". Wales Online. Media Wales. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  48. ^ Owens, Nigel (11 June 2014). "Nigel Owens column: FIFA must stamp down on play-acting at Brazil 2014 or it could filter into rugby too". Wales Online. Media Wales. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  49. ^ Fletcher, Martin (16 November 2019). "Nigel Owens: 'Reffing a World Cup final was nothing compared to the challenge of accepting my sexuality and coming out'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 February 2020.

Further reading

  • Welsh ref Owens on World Cup list IcWales.co.uk
  • – PinkNews.co.uk
  • Quiz the Ref: Nigel Owens – BBC Sport, 15 March 2006
  • Nigel Owens MBE After-Dinner Speaker Profile
  • Rugby World Cup 2007 match official appointments set WorldRugby.org

See also

 
Scholia has a profile for Nigel Owens (Q2609520).

March 11, 2023
nigel, owens, born, june, 1971, welsh, former, international, rugby, union, referee, retired, december, 2020, after, year, career, currently, holds, world, record, most, test, matches, refereed, five, international, referees, listed, professional, within, wels. Nigel Owens MBE born 18 June 1971 is a Welsh former international rugby union referee who retired in December 2020 after a 17 year career He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international referees listed as professional within the Welsh Rugby Union alongside Craig Evans Adam Jones Dan Jones and Ben Whitehouse 1 Nigel OwensMBEOwens officiating a 2014 United Rugby Championship matchBirth nameNigel OwensDate of birth 1971 06 18 18 June 1971 age 51 Place of birthMynyddcerrig Carmarthenshire WalesOccupation s Rugby union refereeRugby union careerRefereeing careerYearsCompetitionApps2001 20202002 20202002 20202003 20202007 201920152019Challenge CupHeineken Champions CupPro14Test matchesRugby World CupRWC FinalsRWC Finals99814910013Correct as of 19 October 2019Owens is also known as a television personality as one of the presenters of the S4C Welsh language chat shows Jonathan and Bwrw r Bar Hitting the Bar Owens also hosts his own quiz programme Munud i Fynd A Minute to Go At the 2011 Eisteddfod Genelaethol he was made a member of the Gorsedd of Bards Contents 1 Early life 2 Refereeing career 3 Outside rugby 4 Personal life 5 References 5 1 Further reading 6 See alsoEarly life EditOwens was born and raised in the village of Mynyddcerrig near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire Wales He is a fluent Welsh speaker He was a school technician at Ysgol Gyfun Maes yr Yrfa cy in Llanelli the same school attended by Welsh international Dwayne Peel and was a youth worker with Menter Cwm Gwendraeth Before that he worked on a farm for over a year as a farmhand 2 Refereeing career EditOwens started refereeing in 1987 after his sports teacher John Beynon suggested he take up refereeing after a school game His first game was an under 15s match between Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire at the age of 16 Owens made his European debut during the 2000 01 European Challenge Cup season refereeing London Irish and Piacenza on 21 January 2001 In October 2001 Owens was one of the first three Welsh Rugby Union professional referees 3 He made his debut in Europe s Heineken Cup refereeing Calvisano and Perpignan on 12 January 2002 Owens made his Celtic League debut on 30 August 2002 refereeing Border Reivers and Connacht Owens was a regular referee on the International Rugby Board World Sevens Series circuit between 2002 and 2005 4 On 16 February 2003 Owens had his first 15 a side international appointment refereeing the second tier match Portugal v Georgia during the 2003 04 European Nations Cup First Division In 2005 Owens earned his first International Rugby Board appointment when he was appointed to the first test of the Irish tour of Japan in Osaka 5 During the 2005 06 season Owens became a regular appointment at both Celtic League and Heineken Cup level making six appearances during the 2005 06 Heineken Cup Owens was appointed to his first play off knock out rugby match on 23 April 2006 when he refereed the 2005 06 European Challenge Cup semi final between Newcastle Falcons and London Irish During the 2006 07 European Challenge Cup he refereed a semi final and the final He also refereed the 2006 07 Heineken Cup quarter final between London Wasps and Leinster on 31 March 2007 That same year he refereed his first Six Nations Championship game England v Italy and his first Tri Nations game New Zealand v Australia On 11 September 2007 Owens made his Rugby World Cup debut in the match between Argentina and Georgia in Lyon France He was the only Welsh referee during the 2007 Rugby World Cup where he refereed three pool stage matches 6 Owens refereed in all six rounds of the 2007 08 Heineken Cup pool stage and was appointed to a quarter final semi final and the final becoming the third Welsh referee to referee a Heineken Cup final 7 The following year he refereed nine games including a quarter final the infamous Bloodgate game 8 semi final and the final becoming the third referee to referee a Heineken Cup final more than once and the second to referee two consecutive Heineken Cup finals 9 On 16 June 2009 as part of the 2009 British amp Irish Lions tour to South Africa Owens refereed the match between the Lions and the Southern Kings 10 During the 2010 11 season Owens was appointed to three play off knock out matches 2010 11 Heineken Cup quarter final 2010 11 European Challenge Cup semi final and the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final He later officiated at the 2011 Rugby World Cup which included an appointment to a quarter final match New Zealand v Argentina He was also appointed to the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final as one of the assistant referees 11 Owens refereed his third Heineken Cup final at the 2012 Heineken Cup Final between Leinster and Ulster 12 In 2013 Owens refereed his 100th Pro12 game and became the most appointed Welsh referee at international level overtaking Derek Bevan During the 2014 15 European Rugby Champions Cup he became the most appointed referee at European Rugby Champions Cup Heineken Cup level with 80 appointments overtaking Alain Rolland He also officiated at that season s final between Clermont and Toulon before refereeing the 2015 Pro12 Grand Final 13 The 2015 Pro12 final was his third time refereeing the Pro12 final having refereed the 2011 and 2014 Pro12 Grand Final 14 Owens was on the 12 man referee panel for the 2015 Rugby World Cup where he was appointed to three pool stage matches including the France v Ireland clash at the Millennium Stadium which was the first time Owens refereed an international match at the Welsh home stadium 15 Owens refereed two more World Cup tests one of which was the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia 16 He became the second Welsh referee to referee a World Cup Final after Derek Bevan took charge of the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final Owens won the World Rugby Referee Award at the 2015 World Rugby Awards 17 On 3 November 2015 he announced that he intended to keep refereeing international rugby for another four years 18 On 5 March 2016 Owens launched the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying process refereeing the first qualification match Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v Jamaica in Arnos Vale 19 Later that year Owens became the most capped rugby referee when he took charge of the Fiji Tonga clash in Suva overtaking Jonathan Kaplan s record of 70 tests 20 On 15 April 2017 Owens made his 150th Pro12 appearance when he took charge of the Judgement Day clash between Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets 21 On 28 November 2020 Owens refereed his 100th international match in the Autumn Nations Cup game between France and Italy becoming the first referee to reach the landmark Two weeks later he announced his immediate retirement from international duty saying Nobody has a divine right to go on forever but expressed a desire to continue refereeing club matches in the Pro14 and at club level in Wales 22 Outside rugby EditOwens is also known as a television personality as one of the presenters of the S4C Welsh language chat shows Jonathan and Bwrw r Bar Hitting the Bar 23 24 Owens also hosts his own quiz programme Munud i Fynd A Minute to Go 25 Owens has a cattle farm in his home village Mynyddcerrig 26 In January 2021 he was featured on the BBC agricultural programme Countryfile 27 His autobiography Hanner Amser Half Time was published in Welsh in 2008 then in English in 2009 28 29 On 24 July 2017 Owens presented a Panorama documentary about men and eating disorders In it he opened up about his own experiences with bulimia and how it has affected his life highlighting his refereeing of the Rugby World Cup as a significant trigger 30 In February 2017 Owens was the castaway on BBC Radio 4 s Desert Island Discs 31 during which he revealed to presenter Kirsty Young that before accepting his sexuality he had asked a doctor if he could be chemically castrated 32 On 25 March 2021 Owens was a panellist on BBC s Question Time When asked about the flying of the Union Jack on public buildings he said that the flag should not be mandated on anybody and suggested if you force issues on people then you are going to have people rebel against it 33 In February 2022 Owens was named as a commentator for S4C in the 2022 Six Nations Championship 34 Owens appears in the mid morning BBC Radio 5 Live programme by Scott Mills and Chris Stark In Real Life TMO he referees on domestic and trivial arguments presented by listeners citation needed Personal life EditIn May 2007 Owens publicly came out as gay in an interview with Wales on Sunday Reaction was mostly supportive 35 Owens said that coming out was a difficult decision and that he had contemplated suicide when he was 26 36 It s such a big taboo to be gay in my line of work I had to think very hard about it because I didn t want to jeopardise my career Coming out was very difficult and I tried to live with who I really was for years I knew I was different from my late teens but I was just living a lie 36 Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup Owens was named Gay Sports Personality of the Year at gay rights group Stonewall s awards ceremony in London 37 He was a patron of the LGBT Centre of Excellence Wales until its disbandment in late 2012 but he is still patron of the Wooden Spoon Society rugby charity In 2013 Owens became a patron of Bullies Out charity in Wales 38 Owens was subjected to racist and anti gay abuse when refereeing England and New Zealand in November 2014 39 This was reported by a fan and resulted in the two spectators responsible being banned from Twickenham for two years 40 In 2015 Owens was named Gay Sports Personality of the Decade at Stonewall awards ceremony in London 41 He was named on the 2017 Pinc List of leading Welsh LGBT figures 42 In a 2019 interview with Wales Online he admitted he once ordered a date to hide in the toilets at Pizza Hut when Wales international Dwayne Peel and his girlfriend walked in In Dublin for the launch of Europe s largest LGBT inclusive rugby tournament Owens was speaking about his own experiences and the difficulty of coming out as gay while working in sport 43 In 2011 he was made a member of the Gorsedd of Bards 44 45 In the 2016 Birthday Honours Owens was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE for services to sport 46 and was awarded an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University in July of the same year 2 Owens has served as secretary chairman and president of the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs 47 and is a fan of Wrexham Football Club 48 His long term partner is Barrie Jones Davies a primary school teacher from Llandovery In October 2019 Jones Davies joined Owens in Tokyo to support him during the Rugby World Cup 49 References Edit International Referees Welsh Rugby Union Wales amp Regions Retrieved 19 January 2021 a b Di Cara Nina 15 July 2016 Honorary Fellow Nigel Owens MBE cardiff ac uk Retrieved 5 February 2017 WalesOnline 31 October 2001 Professional refs walesonline co uk Retrieved 18 April 2017 Rugby365 Craig Joubert Beyond the field rugby365 com Retrieved 18 April 2017 Nigel Owens Personally Speaking Bureau Retrieved 5 August 2016 Welsh ref Owens on World Cup list icWales 27 April 2007 Archived from the original on 16 March 2008 Retrieved 20 September 2015 EPCR European Professional Club Rugby epcrugby com Retrieved 18 April 2017 Bloodgate referee Nigel Owens regrets not checking Harlequins Tom Williams telegraph co uk 7 October 2009 Retrieved 18 April 2017 NIGEL OWENS TO REFEREE HEINEKEN CUP FINAL leinsterrugby ie Retrieved 18 April 2017 IRB confirm referees for Lions tour en espn co uk Retrieved 18 April 2017 Craig Joubert to take charge of World Cup final Rugby World ugbyworld com 17 October 2011 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Nigel Owens to referee Heineken Cup final Rugby Week Rugby News Rugby Video amp Fixtures rugbyweek com 8 May 2012 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Bywater Alex 21 April 2015 Welsh referee Nigel Owens to take charge of European Champions Cup final walesonline co uk Retrieved 18 April 2017 Southcombe Matthew 25 May 2015 Nigel Owens to referee of Guinness Pro12 final walesonline co uk Retrieved 18 April 2017 rugbybworldcup com Match officials announced for Rugby World Cup 2015 rugbyworldcup com Retrieved 18 April 2017 Rugby World Cup Nigel Owens confirmed as final referee bbc co uk 26 October 2015 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Rogers Gareth 2 November 2015 Nigel Owens wins World Rugby Referee Award at post World Cup ceremony Retrieved 18 April 2017 Nigel Owens World Cup final referee to continue until 2019 BBC Sport Bbc co uk 3 November 2015 Retrieved 5 November 2015 Rugby World Cup 2019 Nigel Owens to referee first qualifier bbc co uk 1 March 2016 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Abbandonato Paul 10 June 2016 Nigel Owens becomes rugby world record breaker as he takes charge of 71st Test walesonline co uk Retrieved 18 April 2017 Nigel Owens to make 150th Championship Appearance 11 April 2017 Retrieved 6 April 2018 Nigel Owens Referee announces retirement after 100 Test matches The Independent 11 December 2020 Archived from the original on 20 June 2022 Retrieved 11 December 2020 S4C Sport Nigel Owens www s4c cymru Retrieved 6 April 2018 WalesOnline 29 May 2009 Bwrw r Bar Retrieved 6 April 2018 Munud i Fynd BBC S4C BBC Retrieved 6 April 2018 Hill Owen 12 August 2020 Top rugby referee Nigel Owens kicks off his farming venture Farmers Weekly Countryfile bbc co uk 17 January 2021 Retrieved 17 January 2021 Hanner Amser Hunangofiant Nigel Owens Half Time Nigel Owens autobiography walesonline co uk 29 March 2013 Retrieved 18 April 2017 Hanner Amser by Nigel Owens published by Y Lolfa ylolfa com Retrieved 18 April 2017 Men Boys amp Eating Disorders BBC iPlayer BBC Retrieved 30 November 2019 Presenter Kirsty Young Producer Paula McGinley 5 February 2017 Nigel Owens Desert Island Discs BBC BBC Radio 4 Retrieved 5 February 2017 Rugby ref Nigel Owens asked to be chemically castrated BBC News Online BBC 4 February 2017 Retrieved 5 February 2017 Question Time 2021 25 03 2021 BBC Iplayer Six Nations star studded pundits line ups revealed as ITV get twice as many games as BBC WalesOnline February 2022 Nigel Owens offers advice to the football referee who has retired after suffering homophobic abuse Off the Ball Archived from the original on 4 January 2023 Retrieved 4 January 2023 a b Bevan Nathan 20 May 2007 Ref s gay torment Wales on Sunday Archived from the original on 27 May 2008 Retrieved 16 July 2007 World Cup rugby ref s gay award BBC News British Broadcasting Corporation 2 November 2007 Retrieved 20 May 2010 Owens Nigel 3 July 2014 Nigel Owens Football and rugby could benefit from one captain s challenge per match and why Luis Suarez MUST issue a sincere apology Wales Online Media Wales Retrieved 7 March 2015 Wilson Keith 8 November 2014 Shamed by bigoted England rugby fans at All Blacks game theguardian com Retrieved 5 February 2017 Two given Twickenham ban for homophobic abuse of referee Nigel Owens during England v New Zealand telegraph co uk 28 November 2014 Retrieved 5 February 2017 Ref Nigel Owens is Stonewall s sportsperson of decade bbc co uk 6 November 2015 Retrieved 5 February 2017 Pinc List 2017 Wales Online 19 August 2017 Sands Katie 9 April 2019 The night Nigel Owens hid his date from Wales rugby star in a toilet walesonline Retrieved 24 February 2020 Gorsedd honour for Gillian Clarke and Nigel Owens BBC News British Broadcasting Corporation 8 June 2011 Retrieved 11 June 2011 Pickup Oliver 13 November 2014 Nigel Owens target of homophobia 12 things you might not have known about the Welsh international referee The Telegraph Retrieved 20 September 2015 No 61608 The London Gazette Supplement 11 June 2016 p B22 Rugby ref Nigel takes over as YFC president Wales Online Media Wales 22 September 2009 Retrieved 20 September 2015 Owens Nigel 11 June 2014 Nigel Owens column FIFA must stamp down on play acting at Brazil 2014 or it could filter into rugby too Wales Online Media Wales Retrieved 20 September 2015 Fletcher Martin 16 November 2019 Nigel Owens Reffing a World Cup final was nothing compared to the challenge of accepting my sexuality and coming out The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Retrieved 24 February 2020 Further reading Edit Welsh ref Owens on World Cup list IcWales co uk Owens appointed as international ref Gay referee to officiate at Rugby World Cup PinkNews co uk Quiz the Ref Nigel Owens BBC Sport 15 March 2006 Nigel Owens MBE After Dinner Speaker Profile Rugby World Cup 2007 match official appointments set WorldRugby orgSee also EditNigel Owens at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from Commons Data from Wikidata Scholia has a profile for Nigel Owens Q2609520 Wales portal Sports portal LGBT portalRugby union match officials Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nigel Owens amp oldid 1140242066, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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