Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: Referee Nigel Owens tells off 30 grown men

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Referee Nigel Owens tells off 30 grown men

Leinster and Scarlets played to a 17-17 draw on Friday night at the Parc y Scarlets in what was an ill-tempered game. In the first half referee Nigel Owens felt things were getting out of hand, so he took control of things in rather unique fashion.

Leinster flanker Sean O’Brien made what looked to be a high tackle after the whistle, sparking a free-for-all on the halfway line that took some time to calm down. The tackle was bad, but the scuffle could easily have been avoided had certain players not got involved.

Owens, upon getting no assistance from his two assistants, chose to have a chat to both teams, calling them to him in rather comical fashion for a good old fashioned telling off.

“You’re adults, you’ll be treated like it, as long as you act like it,” was the message from Owens to the 30 players on the pitch.

It is good to see a referee take control of things, basically bringing these professional players back to grassroots level and making them realise that at the end of the day, the ref is the guy in charge out there. One almost expected them to say ‘Yes sir’ after that.

A while back we saw referee Wayne Barnes show his authority in a similar way as he told off two of England rugby’s most senior players, Martin Corry and Steve Borthwick.

It’s good to see, and moments like these reiterate why rugby’s values will make sure it maintains its reputation as a fantastic game, played with respect by gentlemen, who just happen to be aggressive.

Do you think Owens was spot on, or was it a bit much making such a scene?

Time: 02:31

What I did not like was how players began to leave the circle before he was done talking, or how some stayed outside the circle thinking they didn't need to be in it. He is the referee, show him a little respect. Don't act like ansy grade school kids who think they know better. just listen what he has to say, it wasn't even that long.

By eastswk10, at December 05, 2010 10:15 pm
I was at the game. It was a cheap shot by O'Brien that Nigel and his assistants missed. Not really their fault as they were giving a penalty 30 yards up the field, but it seemed a bit odd to bring in a lot of players who weren't involved. Just tell the captains to sort it out.

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 10:16 pm
LOL at the random players starting separate brawls
I thought the ref handled that well

By ElTigre, at December 05, 2010 10:25 pm
Fourth!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

By Flooz, at December 05, 2010 10:34 pm
Pretty funny how the scrum half blindsides number 7, knowing if he took him head on he'd get his ass handed to him.

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 10:35 pm
I like Nigel Owens, and I'm glad he did what he did here. It should be said, though, that he rarely misses out on asserting his authority. That's not really a bad thing, mind you.

Aside from the few who were leaving early and all, it was good to see the players listening and not talking to the sir or pointing fingers at one-another.

By keo, at December 05, 2010 10:46 pm
disgraceful all round

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 10:54 pm
Love the way the Welsh commentators think that a high tackle should be a straight red for O'Brine and laugh when the Scarlets no9 takes a guy out completely off the ball. It was the other way around with the Irish commentators

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 10:54 pm
Rugby players have the intelligence of a child and should be treated like one.

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 10:56 pm
Great decision by Nigel! in games like this the players live the game with many tension, so he put order with a simple warning..

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 11:25 pm
What on earth is the comment above on about. Clearly not a rugby player

Football players would be screaming and crying at this point, thats if they had picked themselves up after diving.

They are pulled in (and most) show respect to the ref. If anything almost all sports could learn how rugby players show respect to the ref

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 11:28 pm
Hahaha gotta love Jiffy Commenting... and Tavis Knoyle nailed Jennings was comical if anything!! Good player though Tav Knoyle...

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 11:28 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOBP_5m5_NM

WATCH THIS

If you haven't seen him, Michael McIntyre, sums up rugby players really well....

By Anonymous, at December 05, 2010 11:31 pm
Just....L.O.L

By Alexander, at December 05, 2010 11:44 pm
Good one Nigel!

By Maximus, at December 05, 2010 11:50 pm
"Love the way the Welsh commentators think that a high tackle should be a straight red for O'Brine and laugh when the Scarlets no9 takes a guy out completely off the ball. It was the other way around with the Irish commentators"

You speak Irish, do you? Because the Irish commentators were speaking Irish.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 12:03 am
I do actually ^
and I was referring to a post match analysis

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 12:12 am
no the irish commentators were speakin irish for the munster match, the leinster match was in english

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 12:21 am
Owens is a good ref.

By Mike, at December 06, 2010 1:07 am
Was that not Dominic Ryan getting blindsided by the scrumhalf? Hang your head in shame son!!!

Fair play to OWens I'd like to see refs do this if a situatio really gets out of hand. Maybe that wasn't the case this time but its good to see he has the cajones to do it.

By Third Centre, at December 06, 2010 1:16 am
Handbags!!

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 1:28 am
Seemed to work so can't argue with it. I do agreee with the comments about bias commentating nowadays. Didn't use to be so apparent in rugby.

Mind you during the last lions series, the SA commentators rightly stated that Burger needed to be red carded for the gouging of fitzgerald, the standard bearer moment for neutral commentating in recent years.

By Canadian content, at December 06, 2010 1:44 am
awesome referee!!well done...

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 1:46 am
I think it was a bit much to be calling everyone in. Refs can barely get the attention of a handful of players, let alone all 30.

These kinda happenings can buzzkill a game. Instead, the ref should have given a stern warning to the skippers of each team.

Any more nonsense? Sin bin away

By ReJLoRd, at December 06, 2010 2:04 am
A buzzkill? As opposed to punch-ups all match? I like a bit of fisticuffs every now and then, but this isn't hockey (nothing against hockey, though). Rugby prides itself in respect and discipline, and when the referee speaks, the players listen.

I think Owens did well to put an end to funny business which would've been more of a "buzzkill" than a one-minute lecture.

By sticks, at December 06, 2010 2:57 am
This is ridiculous.
Nigel Owens is the biggest attention whore ever.
He needs to get over himself, and stop trying to be the centre of attention. No one goes to the game to see the ref.
I agree in prinicple with the ref telling the players involved in a scuffle to cool down, but to call both entire teams together like this?
Too much.

By Jono, at December 06, 2010 3:28 am
well I have heard he is gay, so I guess you couldn't blame him for wanting the attention of thirty grown men

By eastswk10, at December 06, 2010 4:06 am
I disagree, Jono. How often does a ref tell a captain to "have a word" with the rest of the team, only for the captain to not do it?

A bit overboard, maybe. But it worked, didn't it?

By mike, at December 06, 2010 4:46 am
I agree with the 1st comment of Sean.
In my opinion, this scene was the best scene to show the players who is in charge of the game.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 4:48 am
Mike, c'mon, the scuffle was going to die down anyway.
Do you really think the players were like "Oh, I feel terrible now that Owens has pointed out we were being childish."
Owens to me is the worst kind of ref, obsessed with making himself the centre of attention.
An anonymous ref is the best kind of ref.

By Jono, at December 06, 2010 4:52 am
Yeah, a ref who goes unseen/unheard during play is the best kind of ref. But play had already been disrupted.

I think that most rugby players respect the referee, so yeah, I imagine that after all that, they knew Owens was having none of the afters business.

I'd rather have a referee like Owens who stamps out play not having to do with the game versus a referee like Bryce Lawrence who inserts himself into general play too often. Owens at least lets the game flow.

By mike, at December 06, 2010 5:56 am
And I'd rather see a bit of calm than have it turn into Toulon-Stade Francais rumble or worse.

http://rugbydump.blogspot.com/2008/04/french-rugby-mayhem-tana-umaga-red-card.html

By mike, at December 06, 2010 6:08 am
Not a big Nigel Owens fan. He sometimes feel like the crowd is there to see him instead of a game of rugby.

By Douglas, at December 06, 2010 6:41 am
I don't watch Rugby to see Nigel Owens, I watch for the players. Waste of time, and it's obvious for a bit of tele time.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 6:47 am
When Nigel found out his back was to the camera he complained about the lack of cameras. He also wanted background music and fades to different camera angles when he speaks.

By N.o, at December 06, 2010 10:26 am
I love anonymous's comment saying tavis would have had his ass handed to him if he had hit the flanker head on. you obviously dont know tavis knoyle :D

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 10:51 am
Good to see Owens taking charge of the game. Especially good to see kids like mine watch that game and take it all in. Agree with Sean's first comment, I wish the players had all waited until he'd finished speaking. They'd get chewed out for leaving if the ref was still talking at a school game.

If you behave like kids, you get treated like kids. And thanks for the Michael McIntyre link.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 11:40 am
Honestly, it's funny. At the same time it was handbags. I could understand if there was a full on brawl and he reacted like that, maybe. But for a bit of push and shove? You'll never get that out of the game.

It's a high intensity, violent sport. A bit of 'Hows your mother?' everynow and then is part and parcel of the game.

The fans enjoy it too. We've already been robbed off good old fashion biff, atleast let the fans have some handbags!

By Chris, at December 06, 2010 12:43 pm
He hit the nail on the head

"You'll be treated like adults, as long as you act like it"

By Unknown, at December 06, 2010 1:43 pm
This is pure amateur dramatics from Owens. He's prone to it; novel refereeing techniques to assume control of a fractious encounter. And yet, with both teams at his beck and call, he comes out with

“You’re adults, you’ll be treated like it, as long as you act like it".

Who would, and who should, take this man seriously? Even the most (seemingly) petulant of rugby players would laugh this off. If you want to sing from your pulpit, try "friends, ruckers, countrymen" or its ilk, not this bull-!

If Owens cannot stick to tried, tested and approved game management skills as a referee, he can take his mouth to some backwater montessori, where at least the kids are still innocent enough to show him pity.

By Brian, at December 06, 2010 3:42 pm
Now who's being overdramatic, Brian?

By falafel waffle, at December 06, 2010 5:05 pm
That McIntyre link was AWERSOME

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 5:44 pm
There is nothing worse than a ref that loves attention.

I used to have respect for referees that bordered on religous admiration. Since cards came out refs have been more and more involved with deciding the outcome of the game.

A good ref you don't notice. I notice this attention lover everytime he picks up a whistle.

By tb, at December 06, 2010 5:51 pm
the irish always want to start something if they get the chance

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 6:07 pm
Treated like adults? Treated like naughty little school boys more like.
Rugby's a physical game, and that's part of the beauty of it. Sometimes things will inevitably flare up, but this was nothing but handbags.
Speak to the captains by all means, but don't make a bloody song and dance routine out of it.
Refs like Owens are ruining the game by trying to referee all the edge out of rugby.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 11:36 pm
great work, put them in their place fighting like a school team against another.

the ref who took the wales nz game is good too, he takes no crap, remember once he pulled a prop out of a scrum and told him to watch his language.

lets keep the game respectable, encourages people to take it up, if you wanna watch a fight try the local pub on a friday night

By mat, at December 06, 2010 11:50 pm
"I love anonymous's comment saying tavis would have had his ass handed to him if he had hit the flanker head on. you obviously dont know tavis knoyle :D"

I know he prefers to blindside people instead of taking them head on when something like this happens off the ball.

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 2:12 am
Personally i find owens a great ref....he is not afraid to 'talk' to players....and is generally not so whistle happy as others, BECAUSE HE TALKS....

...it winds me up when refs say 'no' at a ruck then blow the whistle,..and you get 8 players all looking puzzled wondering if it was them....nigel owens generally tries to keep the game flowing....

As for this....well, he missed everyone i.e the cause of the punch up and who was a swinger in it....so he basically said 'lads cool it'

Put it this way, if 2 people start fighting on the pitch, the referee calls them both over and the captains and has a word...sometimes offering no card....he didnt see who was involved...it looked to be almost everybody...so he got them all in...

Good move imo..

By (u-p)rick, at December 07, 2010 2:19 am
'I don't watch Rugby to see Nigel Owens, I watch for the players. Waste of time, and it's obvious for a bit of tele time.'

Be greatful, its rare you see all thirty in one camera shot...now you get the chance!

...

By (u-p)rick, at December 07, 2010 2:22 am
Are you kidding Mat?
Watch your language?
Jesus, I'm not trying to be an internet tough guy, I know that's stupid, but harden up a bit ok?
It's not a posh public school sport in alot of countries.

By Tom, at December 07, 2010 2:26 am
'Are you kidding Mat?
Watch your language?
Jesus, I'm not trying to be an internet tough guy, I know that's stupid, but harden up a bit ok?
It's not a posh public school sport in alot of countries.'

But in reality, there is no need to swear....

....if some posh bloke gets his foot stamped on and shouts 'oh bother' there is no reason why a 'non' posh person should swear...

its a way of 'expressing' ones self, however there is no need to use language which would be deemed unacceptable to use around children, and let me tell you 'swear words are not acceptable around children'

Rugby is watched by all years...now, i know myself i have uttered a rude word or two whilst on the pitch, and off and personally id rather f**k or s**t was not the first word which comes to my lips when i stump my toe...but it is....and other people may find it offensive...i've played a game where the referee got tired of swearing and warned people, the next person who swore was sin binned....

I don't see an issue with the sin bin, at the time it was daft, but hey the referee gave a warning...

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 6:53 am
Who deems it unnacceptable around children? Only the politically correct middle class. Don't take your kid to the rugby if it bothers you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_osQvkeNRM

Pulling someone up for swearing is ridiculous. Especially full grown adults.

By Chris, at December 07, 2010 10:06 am
You gotta love Nigel Owens

By Laura Guglielmo, at December 07, 2010 12:02 pm
Chris you're an idiot!!!! If you don't take children to watch rugby then who are going to be the next generation of rugby players! A child will aften get as much out of watching rugby as they will from coaching! You're statement sums you up entirely. An as for it being acceptable to swear around children...well again it says it all about you! As for Owens, well done.

By Jimbo, at December 07, 2010 2:00 pm
Lighten up @Tom, why is everything about "posh" people with you! Sweep that chip off your shoulder. Rugby is not about class war you grumpy working class chap :)...I agree with @Mike. Perhaps coming from a mining family in the North of England that makes me a toff?

hey @Chris....stop being such a bigot, I am glad you think it is utterly acceptable to swear consistently in front of small children. Now you and "class war" Tom can go to games together and mutually intimidate the parents of children as well as helping them to learn how to behave like an adult...The end result is less people will involve their kids in the sport and rugby does less well.

By NiWiTa, at December 07, 2010 2:24 pm
Nigel Owens is such a drama queen!!

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 2:48 pm
Actually the comment written by chris really doesnt surprise me....not because its 'chris' or anything, but because of the way this world is going....

put it this way, im unfortunate enough to swear first and realise second sometimes, however i AM fortunate enough to realise i have just sworn and i try to tone my language down wherever/whenever...

Oh and the other thing, why does being upper class give me a reason NOT to swear? and why does being working class give you a reason TO swear?

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 4:45 pm
^That's a bunch of nonsense, Anonymous.

If you're going to worry about "the way the world is going"...I'd much rather have someone convey a meaningful thought, even if it includes cursing, than the perfunctory garbage people have gotten used to spewing thanks to crap like Facebook and Twitter.

By tits mcgee, at December 07, 2010 6:10 pm
........huh...so...

if i go up to your kid, or your someone young in your family who is learning words etc, and yell 'C*NT' near them you would think thats fine and acceptable?

If you answer 'No, thats unacceptable' then you're comment above seems a little hypocritical...

If you answer 'yes, thats perfectly acceptable, blah blah, freedom of speech, blah blah' then it is my prime example of the way the world is going....

MY point was that we havent yet fallen into disrespecting referee's pulling them left right and centre like footballers do, however i believe if you let one thing go the whole thing will become unravelled....

ok, if you get speared, or something else, yelling 'ah f*ck' (see John Smit as brad thorn drops him) then to have the referee penalise you is silly, but for swearing around the pitch shooting your mouth of i think its fine for the referee to tell you to zip it..

look at cipriani having to apologise for swearing on tv after england won something (yes i know it was a long time ago..) or nonu swearing its a prime example of when and where swearing is acceptable...if the ref chooses to let it fall under 'un-sportsmanlike conduct then so be it'

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 7:42 pm
oh and for the record im not on facebook, nor twitter, those sites are just an excuse to nosey round peoples business without actually having a conversation with that person.....

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 7:44 pm
Mr ignorant Anonymous above, why are you making such opinionated comments as if everyone should listen, but then commenting as Anonymous?!

Give you self a name firstly, and secondly, you're completely wrong about those two. They're extremely valuable both in terms of communication and business.

By Scotsdale, at December 07, 2010 8:01 pm
Scotsdale, the fact that this person posts as anon is irrrlevant. What are peoples issue with it anyway? So, if you knew their name you would what... please tell me because I'm interested to know! As for what anon actually says it's relevant and clearly not trolling. Have to say I agree with everything they say. Jimbo, jimbo, jimbo.

By Jimbo, at December 07, 2010 10:47 pm
Swearing aint so bad, stop your moral pontificating.
And I'm in finance, I'm not a mine worker or something. I'm not trying to advocate marxism or anything.
I don't come from any kind of posh background, just the opposite but the point is we all swear.
And when your playing rugby, telling someone to f off isn't such a bad thing, particularly at the top level.
Maybe I'm just an Aussie, we don't care that much about the odd swear word.
You bunch of fucking bastards. ;)

By Tom, at December 07, 2010 11:01 pm
Ok Scotsdale, because my name obviously will help you in some way I shall provide you with a nickname....i shall pull it right out of thin air...it has no bearing on any nicknamed i've ever had in real life, but just to make my comment so much more valid i'll call myself Scotsdale2. Happy now? its my homage to you.

Now whilst you appear to want to debate facebook etc, rather than swearing, or this video, i shall humour you...

'you're completely wrong about those two. They're extremely valuable both in terms of communication and business.'

Right....communication....I suppose you've never heard of email or a telephone before then?

As for business....
well...Considering at any moment on facebook the user could be tagged in a photo with their pants pulled down i somehow doubt mixing facebook and business is particularly wise....

Personally I'm one of those people who would get a text message saying 'I just wrote you a message on your wall on facebook'....Now..if person A can take the time to write out a text message, and send it...why oh why can they not send me the message they wrote on my facebook wall....

It is great if that is your cup of tea...but that whole 'hey i'll add you on facebook' as the end to any conversation gets a little old....

I have a couple email accounts and a mobile...

my mobile is always on and always with me....if you ring me and i miss it i'll text you or ring you back....if i turn my phone off its because i do not want to be disturbed....so having facebook is meaningless to me...

@Tom....everyone is in 'finance' one way or another...so really that doesnt mean an awful lot...yes swearing occurs on a pitch however im taught to believe if someone 'offends' me on the pitch the best bet is to not shout 'f****k offf' like a whiney wee one but to either put a few extra points on the scoreboard, have a scuffle (which i dont condone) or smash them in a tackle....to reply with 'f***k off' doesnt exactly show off your great vocabulary an doesnt exactly 'hurt.' In fact you'd be better off saying 'ouch, that hurt you rotter' because you'd probably get more notice that merely cursing at someone...

By Scotsdale2, at December 08, 2010 1:06 am
feck

By Anonymous, at December 08, 2010 1:06 am
Sctosdale2, I disagree.
Telling someone to fuck off can be a perfect way to deal with a situation on the field.
Punching is another way, but usually is as a result of something alot worse.
Calling someone a rotter would be very strange.

By Tom, at December 08, 2010 3:47 am
@ Tom my dads harder than your dad, my mum can beat up your mum in a fight. How pathetic! The best response to anything in rugby is smile :) you should see a props face when you smile after they've punch little old me in the backs.

By jimbo, at December 08, 2010 8:10 am
Jimbo, the reason for me moaning about Anonymous comment posting is the obvious reason - so that the person in question can be easily addressed when being replied to. Just like now. Imagine there were 50 Jimbos? Would make things a bit challenging :) See my point now?

Scotsdale2, the same above applies. I think the fact that I'm replying and addressing you will reinforce that point. Great choice of name btw.

In response:

Communication - Photographs, thoughts, news, video even.. facebook is the easiest form of communication there is (other than twitter possibly), particularly for people with family in other parts of the world. Obviously you dont have that so you can't see out the box, but for those of us who do, there's nothing easier than uploading a photo or news to facebook and having everyone see it at once, rather than having to phone or email everyone. In terms of being on the receiving end its also much easier.

Of course I still use email and mobiles, who doesn't, but facebook is also valuable and shouldn't be discarded.

(btw, your friends are a bit odd if they text you to tell you they've written on your wall)

The way you dismiss it but bang on about email and mobiles makes me think that 15 years ago you would have said the same about those forms of communication. Some things take time to catch on with some people. Maybe facebook doesn't benefit you, but it benefits 500 million others so I'm sure there's a few positives behind it.

Business - I wasn't meaning networking (although thats one big side of it, providing you dont get caught with your pants down), I was referring to business pages on there.

Funny how this convo has nothing to do with rugby, but interesting that everyone has different opinions on technology.

By Scotsdale, at December 08, 2010 10:57 am
I do have relatives/friends etc in a different country to myself, however i use emails or skype or anything else other than facebook...

15 years ago I was a mere 7-8 year old so i didnt have a great care for technology....

...My personal problem with facebook is that it is intrusive...all of a sudden you have no excuse for not doing something....whatever you do somehow appears on facebook, if you dont want to be 'friends' with someone they get upset and hurt, if you do accept their 'friend request' and never talk to them (and they never talk to you) then you have someone who you do not communicate with knowing all of your business whether it be, where you were on saturday night via a photo or who you're talking to, or who's talking to you...or the other thing is they send you some horrendously tiresome 'feed my farm' 'join my mafia' or some other things that just wont ever leave you alone....

I know it has its benefits for some people but im merely stating why it has no interest to me and why I feel the way I do about it....

You state it benefits people, however im sure that a large majority of those people find benefits in looking up peoples friends and business and just generally being nosey.....dont argue that one, you cannot disprove that!

By Scotsdale2, at December 08, 2010 10:22 pm
Scotsdale and Scotsdale2,

Please shut the fuck up and stop being such pussies.

Thanks.

By Anonymous, at December 09, 2010 1:59 am
Its on bbc WALES < < < WALES. Therefore the alligance is to the Welsh team you pikey cunts! get back to your potatoe caravans!

By Anonymous, at December 09, 2010 4:10 pm
'potatoe caravans!'

Good effort on attempting to spell potato, why dont you get back to school...

By Anonymous, at December 09, 2010 6:30 pm