THERE WAS one incident that no advice could have prepared me for, says referee legend Nigel Owens.
It happened at Gilfach Goch, the Rhondda Valleys club. Midway through the second half, a home back-row player approached me to say, “Ref, will you tell me when there are five minutes left please?”
“No problem,” I replied, only to start worrying: was he planning to lump someone, get sent off? But I knew it would have little impact on the result with so little time left.
He repeated it soon after. “Don’t forget the time please, ref.” Those concerns having crossed my mind, I said, “Why do you need to know?”
“No, no, no, don’t worry. Just let me know please,” he replied.
Six minutes from time I had to blow up…
