Nigel Owens slams Dan Biggar-like behaviour in rugby

Wednesday, 02 December 2020 at 10:30

byRugby Rucker

Popular Welsh referee Nigel Owens thinks it is time for players to stop the histrionics and dissent that is creeping into the game.

"There is a little trend creeping into rugby, and it has been for some time, of players questioning referees' decisions, waving their arms in the air." wrote Owens in his column for Wales Online.

He added: "Or going after the referee when a try is scored to insist they check with the TMO about something they think may have happened. Desperation on most occasions, although sometimes they do have a point.

"I guess some of this has hit the headlines in recent days with Dan Biggar receiving a bit of criticism for one or two things that happened in the Wales v France game.

"I know Dan quite well. Indeed, my twitter profile picture is one of him, Rhys Webb and myself laughing together at a Q&A function we were doing for supporters at a hospitality function at the Liberty Stadium a few years back.

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"We go back many years and let me tell you he is one of the nicest people you could wish to meet off the field. A truly top bloke, polite, always ready to greet you with warmth and a smile.

"On the field, though, I guess Dan gets in that zone and obviously he needs to control that passion in the correct manner at times.

"You can't get frustrated at decision-making, or wave your arms about, it's not the referee who is infringing, is it?

"But I guess some players are at their best when they feel they are in the thick of everything. Dan is a passionate player, his fierce desire to win in the red of Wales burns deeply inside him, and that is understandable and to be applauded."

Retiring Nigel Owens selects the FIVE best players he refereed

1. Sergio Parisse (Italy)

"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."

2. Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

"Quite simply he was just an exceptional leader. I have been in charge of games where he pretty much carried his team, whether it was Munster or Ireland, almost on his back and onto victory."

3. Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

"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."

4. Phil Vickery (England)

"I always had a lot of time for him, found him a decent man, a great player to referee. He wasn’t one of those who would whinge at decisions, he would accept the call and get on with it. Such a good scrummager."