Nigel Owens  is a Welsh  rugby union referee. Born and raised in a small village in South Wales he was appointed as an international referee in 2005, and that year officiated his first international between Ireland and Japan in Osaka.
He was the only Welsh referee at the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups and is regarded as the first openly gay man to referee at the highest level.  He made his World Cup debut in Lyon, France, in September 2007 refereeing the Argentina vs. Georgia game.
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.

Nigel is also one of the presenters on  S4C’s ‘Jonathan’ ,  a rugby-themed Welsh language chat show  hosted by former Welsh international Jonathan Davies.  He also co-presents the sports-themed Welsh language chat show  ‘Bwrw’r Bar ‘.
In 2007, Owens was named ‘ Gay Sports Personality of the Year ‘ by gay rights group  Stonewall  at their annual awards ceremony in London.
In 2011, Nigel was made a member of the  Gorsedd of Bards at their National Eisteddfod in Wrexham. Owens was appointed as the referee for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham. Nigel announced his retirement from international refereeing in 2020.
Since then he has been combining his speaking and presenting work with a return to the farming activities he loved as a child growing up on a dairy farm in rural Wales. Today Owens owns 100-acres over two farm sites near Pontyberem, in his home county of Carmarthenshire, where he keeps two herds of Hereford cattle.

Mental Health
Being Yourself
Rugby and Leadership
Teamwork and Divesity

In 2011, Nigel was made a member of the  Gorsedd of Bards  at their National Eisteddfod in Wrexham. Owens was appointed as the referee for the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham. Nigel announced his retirement from international refereeing in 2020.
Since then he has been combining his speaking and presenting work with a return to the farming activities he loved as a child growing up on a dairy farm in rural Wales. Today Owens owns 100-acres over two farm sites near Pontyberem, in his home county of Carmarthenshire, where he keeps two herds of Hereford cattle.

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