In the middle of the land, in the heart of the action.
Nigel Owens is the Oval Planet's best-known arbiter.
Most respected.
A celebrity who goes beyond rugby.
Beyond his qualities as a man with the whistle, the Welshman has become known for his sense of humor and his repartee to reframe the players or on his Twitter account.
Saturday, at the Stade de France, he will referee the match between France and Italy, counting for the third day of the Nations Cup.
It will be his 100th international match, a record.
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Aged 49, the Welsh referee in June 2016 broke the record set by New Zealander Jonathan Kaplanqui counted 70 games on the clock.
At the whistle of the superb final of the 2015 World Cup won by New Zealand against Australia (34-17), Nigel Owens said, via a statement from Wordl Rugby: “When you are a referee, you do not think at these kinds of stages.
When I won my 71st selection, I became the most capped referee;
I had just passed Jonathan Kaplan.
Even though it wasn't a goal I was striving for, I achieved it anyway.
And in the end this is something that you are very proud of.
It's the same today with this 100th selection.
If I told you that I don't attach too much importance to the numbers, and if another referee told you that, I don't think he would be very honest with you because, obviously this is an important milestone, that this is something you cannot ignore. ”
"I like to prepare for matches, from the previous week, when the first articles in the newspapers start to appear"
Nigel owens
Basically, the Welshman should have retired at the end of the year.
But, in agreement with his federation, he decided to extend the adventure for one more year, remaining hungry after a chaotic year due to the health crisis.
His passion remains intact, seventeen years after having officiated in February 2003 for a meeting between Portugal and Georgia, in Lisbon.
Already, after the last World Cup in Japan where he had refereed the semi-final between England and the All Blacks, he had thought of stopping.
“I loved it and I couldn't tell myself at the end it's good, it's over, I'm quitting.
And there you have a lot of people telling you that you are only a few matches away from the 100th;
there were actually three left to get there.
And players were like "Maybe in four years, Nigel!"
And I would answer them "Oh no, it won't be for me anymore."
So they would ask me if I was going to stop and I would answer them “Yes, why?”.
And that's why I'm still here.
"
Butterflies in the belly
In the interview he gave to World Rugby, the Welshman details his little habits, how he works before meetings.
“I like to prepare for matches, from the previous week, when the first articles in the newspapers start to appear.
You have the two teams expressing themselves, the two coaches who can look for each other a bit.
You can't miss the big games and all the expectation they generate.
(…) I look at all of this with a great open mind.
It does not disturb my preparation, nor my vision of what I expect from this match because I like to referee without preconceived ideas. ”
And to continue: “The more the day of the match approaches, the more you feel fluttering in the belly.
I'm not the nervous type, it's more nervous arousal than nervousness that I experience.
And then there's the match on Saturday, the growing crowd, this atmosphere in the stadium during the warm-up and then you go back to the locker room to prepare yourself with your team.
I always listen to music, and always the same songs. ”
"I spent almost ten years pretending I was a different person and it almost cost me my life"
Nigel owens
Nigel Owens has gone beyond the rugby world by having the courage to reveal his homosexuality and confide the torments he had gone through before coming out, pushing him to a suicide attempt.
“I spent almost ten years pretending I was a different person and it almost cost me my life,” he says.
Since that day, since I was given this second chance, I have always said to myself: be yourself. "
He recognizes it today: “Rugby saved my life.
I would like to tell myself that I have made my contribution to rugby over the years and if I have succeeded then I am happy.
Because, believe me, I owe more to rugby and the people of rugby than rugby will ever owe me.
Without the great sport of rugby, I could not be who I am today… ”
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