Legendary rugby referee Nigel Owens has ranked some of the trickier players he had to run the rule over down the years.
4 & 5. Peter Stringer & Ronan O'Gara
“Definitely! ROG and (Peter) Stringer, oh, when you had to referee the two of them together. I always got on well with the both of them though. I have a huge amount of respect for them, but they made my days hard on occasions. They were lippy in a respectful way.”
3. Martin Roberts
“The Ospreys scrum-half has actually started refereeing now, but he’d always be in my ear all game when he was a player. He certainly thought he knew the laws then.”
2. Dan Biggar
“Oh god yes. He’s so focused and so passionate about what he’s doing, we’ve had a few run ins on the pitch down the years. I mean, it’s always been in a respectful way as we always have a drink and a laugh after the game.
1. Austin Healey
“Definitely Austin Healey. I only caught him towards the end of his career, thankfully. A wonderfully talented player and a very good pundit now, but he always had plenty say and quickly assumed I didn’t like him. He’s actually blocked me on Twitter, but I don’t think I’m the only one.”
