Nigel Owens names six rugby law changes and refereeing issues that must be fixed

Saturday, 13 June 2026 at 09:17

bySteven Smith

Former referee Nigel Owens has identified several key areas where he believes rugby union officiating must improve ahead of a pivotal summer for the sport.

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In his latest WalesOnline column, the former World Cup final referee outlined a number of concerns around how the game is currently being officiated, from inconsistent foul play sanctions to the growing divide between the northern and southern hemispheres.

With the summer internationals fast approaching and the inaugural Nations Championship on the horizon, Owens believes World Rugby must ensure referees are applying the laws consistently across all major competitions. He also weighed in on the controversial 20-minute red card debate, breakdown gamesmanship and the balance officials must strike between enforcing the law and managing the flow of the game.

Here are the key law interpretations and officiating trends Owens believes rugby must address in the months ahead.

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Consistency Between Hemispheres

"There appears to be a slight disparity at the moment between the hemispheres in terms of how the game is officiated."

Owens believes one of World Rugby's biggest challenges is ensuring a consistent approach across the northern and southern hemispheres. He pointed to Super Rugby's entertainment-focused style compared to the stricter officiating often seen in international rugby.

"There will always be a slight variation, I think, in terms of how the two hemispheres want to referee the game."

"What World Rugby has to do is to make sure everyone's aligned and consistent, no matter what tournaments the teams play in outside the international window."

Full Red Cards Must Remain Full Red Cards

One of Owens' strongest views concerns the growing push for 20-minute red cards.

"For me, a straight red should also be a full red. Not a 20-minute red card."

The former World Cup final referee believes rugby still has work to do when it comes to foul play sanctions and fears inconsistency is confusing players and fans alike.

"Something that was a clear red card in some games wasn't given in others."

"There was a little too much head-scratching over what was and what wasn't a red or yellow card."

Referees Must Crack Down on Breakdown Gamesmanship

Owens highlighted a growing trend at the breakdown where players deliberately prevent tacklers from rolling away in an attempt to win penalties.

"What we've seen creeping into recent games is players deliberately holding a tackler in."

"Referees need to be aware of what is essentially cheating."

He cited examples of players pinning tacklers down or using their knees to stop opponents from exiting the tackle area.

"I've seen it in the last few rounds of URC games and in Europe already."

"So referees need to be strong on that."

Reward the Best Jacklers – But Fairly

Owens praised officials for improving the speed of the game by demanding tacklers move away quickly.

"What referees were really strong on in the Six Nations was getting a tackler out of the way and not rewarding a jackal when the tackler was still hanging about."

He believes that approach helped create more attacking rugby.

"I think that contributed to a faster, more open game."

Keep Policing Offside Strictly

Another area Owens wants officials to remain firm on is offside around kicking situations.

"They've recently been quite strong on offside in front of the kick and on the back foot."

He feels this has given attacking teams more space to operate.

"By allowing that little bit more space, I think it has contributed to some really open games of rugby that we saw in the Six Nations."

Referees Need Better Balance

Owens also discussed the difference between referees who strictly follow the law book and those who manage games more instinctively.

"There are clearly some referees who are very technical and will referee purely on the basis of what the law tells them."

"There are others who maybe will referee on the feel of a game."

However, he warned that allowing too much can be just as problematic as being overly technical.

"The referees who go on to be exceptional referees are the ones who get that balance right."

"In the Six Nations, the ones that refereed better in my view, and contributed to better games of rugby, were the ones that managed to get the balance right."

Scrum Standards Must Remain High

Finally, Owens wants officials to continue the strong work seen around the scrum while also improving consistency on foul play.

"I hope they continue to be strong on that and on refereeing scrums."

"I think there's still some work to do around that, but hopefully see some progress on that in the Nations Cup and beyond."

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