Nigel Owens was one of the first three Welsh Rugby Union professional referees and has officiated some the most high-profile and high-pressure tournaments including the 2015 World Cup Final.
In a courageous move, one of the better known Nigel Owens facts is that he came out as gay in 2007, one of the first sports professionals to do so.
However, despite being one of the best known figures in rugby union, here RUCK reveal a number of Nigel Owens facts that you might not know about.
Nigel Owens facts:
1. How he started refereeing
Playing rugby at school, his team hadn’t won a game all year, and needed to kick a conversion for victory. It was Nigel’s moment of glory. But it didn’t go to plan. The ball "went closer to the corner flag than it did to the uprights. I was a laughing stock in the school.” His coach suggested, rather forcefully, that it might make more sense for him to oversee the games rather than play in them.
2. Business
Before becoming a professional rugby union referee, Nigel worked on a dairy farm in west Wales and was also a youth worker. More recently he kicked off his own farming venture at home with a pedigree herd of Hereford cattle in Llanelli.
3. Full name
According to Wikipedia, his birth name was Nigel Farrell...
We're not completely sure this is true.
4. Family
Scarlets and Wales U20 centre Ioan Nicholas is the cousin of the top referee.
5. Champions Cup
He is only one of two referees ever to be appointed to referee two consecutive Heineken Cup finals: Munster v Toulouse at the Millennium Stadium in 2008 and Leicester Tigers v. Leinster at Murrayfield in 2009.
6. Partner
His long-term partner is Barrie Jones-Davies, a primary school teacher from Llandovery. In October 2019, Jones-Davies joined Owens in Tokyo to support him during the Rugby World Cup.
7. Football fan
The Welshman supports National League side Wrexham, who are currently subject of a takeover bid from global superstar Ryan Reynolds.
8. Honours
In the 2016 Birthday Honours, Owens was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport, and was awarded an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University in July of the same year.
9. Trailblazer
In 2007, Owens was named ‘Gay Sports Personality of the Year‘ by gay rights group Stonewall at their annual awards ceremony in London.
10. His love of tea
Owens loves his Welsh tea so much, that he always makes sure to pack it in his suitcase when heads overseas. He told desert Island Discs that: "“There’s something about a cup of tea that cures so many ills.”
11. Car named after him
12. World Record
He is the current world record holder for most test matches refereed.
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- Jordie Barrett over Damian de Allende is far from being correct. The hype around Dupont is also overreaching, he's probably 4th in the world and has been since the 2023 WC. He also avoids certain matchups which is strange. The rest of the list is pretty good apart from minor subjective biases.JasonMarlow16-09-2026
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