![\"Referee](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1715731.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe legendary referee may have hung up his whistle, but he remains involved, as a pundit on Welsh television, and presents a weekly show about the big decisions in the international game on YouTube called Whistle Watch for World Rugby.<\/p>\n
For many, he is the voice of rugby refereeing, with his natural ability to communicate clearly his common sense approach to the game. Yet even he is no longer sure of what he is seeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are saying to me, \u2018I didn\u2019t expect that decision. I expected that to be a straight red\u2019. But it wasn\u2019t given. Or I\u2019m saying, \u2018that\u2019s not a straight red\u2019. But they gave a straight red,\u201d he says. \u201cEven as a referee, although I\u2019ve retired a couple of years, I\u2019m just thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t know what to expect here\u2019. And that shouldn\u2019t be happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, they really need to grasp this pretty quickly and somehow get rid of all these layers and layers and layers and just get back to being as simple as you possibly can for, to be fair, a complex game.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Referee Nigel Owens during the 2019 PRO14 final between Leinster and Glasgow Warriors at Celtic Park in Glasgow. Photo: Brendan Moran\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
Owens does not miss refereeing, but he still cares deeply about the game. We meet in Navan\u2019s Newgrange Hotel an hour before he is due to appear as a guest of Navan RFC at their sold-out business lunch, a reminder that he remains a popular figure.<\/p>\n
Public speaking is a big part of what he does now, whether addressing corporate events to tell his story or regaling a rugby audience with tales of his long and distinguished career in the game.<\/p>\n
One begets the other in many ways, with Owens having hailed rugby\u2019s reaction to his coming out and the sport\u2019s inclusivity \u2014 something that begins at club level.<\/p>\n
But the 54-year-old from Mynyddcerrig in Carmarthenshire believes rugby must guard against complacency when it comes to upholding its own values. And, he warned, that must start at the top level of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Catch 22, you\u2019ve got to show a clear message at the top but you\u2019ve also got to show the clear message at the bottom because that\u2019s when that difficult journey will start,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difficult journey hasn\u2019t started when you\u2019re 25 years of age dealing with it at the top of the game. It\u2019s started when you\u2019re in your teens or whenever you start that journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you\u2019ve got an environment around you in that grassroots environment which encourages people to be themselves, the value of respect and the diversity and everything that\u2019s in the sport of rugby, then you\u2019ve got the base, you\u2019ve got the groundwork right then. It\u2019s hugely important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, though, his fear is that rugby \u2014 which he says had led the way \u2014 is losing its way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there have been issues in rugby \u2014 whatever they could be \u2014 racist abuse of a player, referee abuse, whatever the issues are, where rugby has sort of led the way, it\u2019s dealt with them. In football, you can see the players swearing at the referee but then nothing seems to be done about it. Now if it happened in rugby, it would be dealt with.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest issue I think rugby has, and this ties into [things] around the personal journey as well, is if you\u2019ve got players playing a certain way, or using an illegal tackle or leading with the shoulder or a finger in the eye, for example, if that is not dealt with strongly at the top of the game, then the kids playing the game think that it\u2019s alright to do it. So there has to be a standard and a strong message sent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Irish scrum struggled in their defeat to South Africa at the Aviva Stadium last month. Photo: David Fitzgerald\/Sportsfile<\/p>\n
\u201cRugby has always led the way in dealing with issues. At the moment it\u2019s struggling with that consistency of a player charging into a [player] shoulder first, totally reckless and then you get a six-week ban, reduced to three weeks for saying sorry, and then go to \u2018tackle school\u2019 and get a two-week ban for something that can cause a serious, serious injury, particularly where the game is at the moment. Well, that\u2019s not sending a strong enough message to the players or to the grassroots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens believes an over-reliance on technology is at the heart of rugby\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor somebody who refereed from when technology was being used just for goal-line offences and nothing else to where it is now … I always said that the more you bring technology into the game, the more difficult you\u2019re going to make it for yourself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause what will happen is, in a few years down the line, everybody will expect every decision to be scrutinised and be perfect. If you try to be perfect, then perfect will become the enemy of good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I started refereeing, [former international referee] Derek Bevan gave me one great piece of advice. Always start refereeing the game: \u2018keep control, keep it tight. Set your standards in that first five or 10 minutes\u2019. When players know the standard you\u2019ve set, they\u2019ll play, and then you can let it go. If you start off the game letting them do anything they want, it\u2019s impossible to get it back under control.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I fear has happened now with technology, it\u2019s gone so far that the TMO can come in for pretty much anything during the game. It\u2019s going to be very difficult now to claw this back to where it needs to be and get rid of all these grey areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another element that appears to be muddying the waters at the top level is the layers of bureaucracy referees must go through, between the 20-minute and straight red cards and the TMO and the bunker review process.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to sort out what actually is a red and keep it as a red,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, if it\u2019s a yellow card for foul play but not reaching the threshold of a red, make it a 20-minute sanction. And for technical infringements, keep it at 10 minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they\u2019ve done now, to try to counter unlucky reds which shouldn\u2019t have been reds in the first place, they\u2019ve brought in the bunker and that\u2019s just added another layer for referees to deal with.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout being disrespectful to them, the people in the bunker are not international referees. If I was refereeing now, I\u2019d want to make that decision myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr, if I had to send it to the bunker and had no control over the decision, I\u2019d want it to go to someone like John Lacey, Wayne Barnes, Romain Poite \u2014 people who\u2019ve been there and know the feel of the game. Some of the bunker officials have never refereed at the professional end of the game, let alone internationally. That\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two most important people now are the referee and the bunker referee. The TMO still allows the referee to have the final say. Once you send it to the bunker, you play no part in that process. That can\u2019t be right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having said that, Owens does not have an interest in going into the bunker himself. Rugby remains a passion, but he\u2019s at peace with his decision to retire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to do the travelling anymore. My dad\u2019s in his 90s. I didn\u2019t want to be on the other side of the world for three weeks. I always wanted to have a small holding on a farm. And the travelling, plus the way the game was going \u2014 far too technical. All these referee camps, hours and hours of meetings discussing clips. I thought it was time to get out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to go somewhere else in the world for three weeks just to sit in a bunker. For me, it was about being on that field. That\u2019s why you\u2019re not seeing referees who\u2019ve finished in the last few years going into that sort of role. It\u2019s probably not for them. Their expertise is probably more needed in coaching and other aspects of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scrummaging was the other aspect of the sport that came under scrutiny in the international window, especially in the wake of Ireland\u2019s defeat to South Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cScrums should never be the most important part, but they still need to be integral,\u201d he says. \u201cOtherwise, where are the likes of Adam Jones, Tadhg Furlong, John Hayes going to play? They can\u2019t play anywhere else \u2014 their body shape doesn\u2019t suit other positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you remove the contest and reward from scrums \u2014 whether that reward is keeping the opposition on the back foot, spreading the ball, winning a penalty, or gaining an advantage, what happens then? You\u2019ll end up with six-foot-eight back-rows playing in the front-row like rugby league. That\u2019s not what this game is about.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlayers need to get better at scrummaging, and referees need to get stronger at dealing with negativity in the scrum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Owens was in charge on the day the Irish scrum crumbled at Twickenham in 2012, but he never reached for his pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should never yellow-card a player who\u2019s done nothing wrong. If a prop deliberately takes it down three or four times, he deserves to go, that\u2019s how you change behaviour. But don\u2019t punish someone who has no option.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the last time you saw a lot of five-metre scrums? The goal-line dropout law is the first one I\u2019d scrap [as] it\u2019s only brought negativity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019ve got a strong scrummaging side, why shouldn\u2019t you be rewarded? You\u2019re rewarded for a good lineout, a good maul, a creative backline, or a back-row that steals ball. The scrum should be no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat needs to happen is small changes to make scrums better and quicker \u2014 set them faster, deal with players who collapse them. It\u2019s not the referee\u2019s fault when scrums collapse, but it becomes their fault if they don\u2019t deal with the culprits. So improve the scrum, don\u2019t depower it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Refereeing, he says, is still something he\u2019d recommend to any youngster interested in taking up the whistle as long as they have the right motivation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would definitely recommend it, but get into it for the right reason What we see now, and I think it\u2019s the same all over the world, is a huge influx of young referees because they see it as a career, as publicity, being on TV, being a mini-celebrity in rugby. Some get into it for the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, you\u2019ve got to get into it because you love the game, you can\u2019t play anymore, coaching\u2019s not for you, and you want to give refereeing a go. That\u2019s the right reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say \u2018give it a go\u2019. But be prepared, it\u2019s going to be difficult along the way. The positives will outweigh the negatives by a long, long way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The legendary referee may have hung up his whistle, but he remains involved, as a pundit on Welsh…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[18,19,17,4934,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-232140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-ruaidhri-oconnor","12":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115716961820586749","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}