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How Nigel Owens Won the Hearts of the Rugby World
Published: October 23, 2015
It’s the kind of list that can stretch clubhouse debates into the wee hours and still end up with as many different orders of rugby’s big names as there are people sitting around the table.
The great players and coaches dominate the top 20 before we begin to see some of the money men and the game’s high-powered executives take their places.
But by far the smallest category of entrants is that of the game’s referees. One makes the list, to be exact.
Come on down No. 32, otherwise known as Nigel Owens.
The 44-year-old sits just one place behind Rupert Murdoch and two behind Toulon sugar daddy Mourad Boudjellal. He also ranks higher than several illustrious names, including Bryan Habana, Sam Warburton and Jonny Sexton.
Final destination
Owen’s fellow officials, Wayne Barnes and Jerome Garces, will take charge of this weekend’s Rugby World Cup semi-finals, leading many to conclude that the final will be handed to the man from Carmarthenshire.
It doesn’t take much research to uncover criticism of sporting officials—not much at all in this past week.
Rugby and football in particular boast many a referee who polarizes opinion as much as some of the most talked about players and coaches.
But the standing of Owens at this present moment appears to be firmly in the positive.
In fact, there is a case that Owens is the most-loved referee the game has ever seen. Let’s widen that out to sport. Perhaps, the most loved referee sport has ever known.
The human touch
Owens has reached this status through a well-measured combination of the authority of a school disciplinarian and the human touch lacked by other referees.
He has ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union
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