"My favourite player" - Nigel Owens reveals his five top current rugby players

Wednesday, 02 March 2022 at 22:56

photocentric vs youtube thumbnail coffee vs tea 2022 03 02t225554831

byRugby Rucker

Who are the best players to referee? Popular Welsh referee Nigel Owens tells all as he runs down some of his favourite current players he got to referee.

#5. Owen Farrell (England)

OWENS SAID: “I can only speak from my own experience of refereeing him and, when I did, he was an excellent captain to deal with. I have a huge amount of respect for him as a player and a person. He always knew where the line was with me. I would say to him that he could always come and talk to me as long as it was at the right time and in the right tone and he always did that.”

#4. Stuart Hogg (Scotland)

Owens wrote: "How can you fail to be impressed when watching Hogg play. He’s so exciting."

#3. Sergio Parisse (Italy)

Owens said: "I’ve been fortunate to have refereed some tremendous No.8s during my career but Sergio is tops. He’s such a talented player and rarely has a bad game."

NatWest 6 Nations Championship Round 2, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 10/2/2018
Ireland vs Italy
Italy's Alessandro Zanni, Luca Bigi and Sergio Parisse
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

#2. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

Owens said: "A man of few words, he does his talking on the field with his actions. Not only is he a brilliant player and a very good captain but I don’t think I have reffed a match where he hasn’t given absolutely everything."

#1. Antoine Dupont (France)

Owens said: "My favourite player. I referred him and I love watching him play now and it's Dupont. He's absolutely brilliant and a joy to watch."

Antoine Dupont of France calls for the mark during the Six Nations Championship match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on March 13 2021. - PHOTO: Micah Crook/PPAUK