When Owens referees Fiji versus Tonga in Suva tomorrow (Saturday 11th June) he will surpass the achievements of the now retired Jonathan Kaplan of South Africa, who refereed 70 tests during his career, and become the game’s most capped official.
Wales’ first referee was Mr D Herbert who mediated a Wales v England test in 1882 and the country which boasts rugby as a national obsession has always been at the forefront of the international game when it comes to refereeing.
From Gwynne Walters in the ‘60s to Derek Bevan in the 90s Welsh rugby, which has produced 55 international referees in total, has a proud history of being trusted to officiate the big games.
Bevan refereed at four world cups including the 1991 Rugby World Cup final and when he retired from international rugby in 2000 he held the record for the most capped Welshman – 44.
Owens surpassed Bevan in 2013 and has since taken charge of his own Rugby World Cup final, in 2015, on his way to passing Kaplan’s world appearance record.
“It’s a tremendous achievement from a personal point of view for Nigel, but also something that the whole of Welsh rugby can be proud of,” said Whitehouse, who himself took charge of 21 international matches during his own career on the pitch, which spanned from 2000 to 2006.
“During more than a decade of taking on high profile matches Nigel has represented our national sport around the world and been a genuine role model and ambassador for Welsh rugby.
“He is a true professional and a real student of the game who has been able to move with the different trends and laws that have come into play as rugby has evolved over the years.
“He always has time for the young referees and players who come through the system to answer questions and to share his experience, he has been and still is a great asset to Welsh rugby.”
Since making his test debut in 2003 when Portugal beat Georgia 34-30 in Lisbon, Owens has developed into one of the most respected match officials in the game’s history.
From Cardiff to Christchurch and from Krasnoyarsk in Siberia to Kingstown in St Vincent, he has travelled the world with his boots and whistle for the past 13 years.
In that time he has taken charge of 16 Six Nations matches and 12 in The Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations) as well as five European Cup finals, two European Challenge Cup finals and, the biggest one of them all, the Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham last October.
“Every time I take the field as a referee it is an honour and even more so when it’s a test match,” said Owens.
“I don’t think anyone goes into refereeing in order to break records like this but I suppose what it says is that I’ve managed to stay at the top level of the game for a while now so there is a lot of satisfaction and pride that comes with that.
“Refereeing the Rugby World Cup final was a wonderful experience and one that I will treasure forever, but every match is memorable in its own way and I am really looking forward to this next challenge in Fiji, where I have never refereed before.
“I have been fortunate to have so many people supporting me along the way – friends, family and other past and present referees as well as the WRU and World Rugby. It has been a hugely rewarding and enjoyable journey so far and I hope to keep going for some time to come.”
