An alarming record under Rugby World Cup final referee Nigel Owens makes for unpleasant reading for Wallabies captain Stephen Moore, who has been left stunned by Australia’s dismal numbers.
To a man, the Wallabies praised Owen’s appointment but there might be concerns they haven’t beaten the All Blacks in three Tests which he’s officiated, heading into Saturday’s World Cup final against the defending champions.
Australia have lost four of their past five Tests under Owens, including the 41-13 Eden Park drubbing at the hands of the All Blacks in August and, in their past 10, have lost the penalty count seven times – trailing a cumulative penalty count 112-74 in that period.
Their overall record, of seven wins and seven losses in his Tests, isn’t much better, given the Wallabies’ Test match-winning strike rate is much better than 50 per cent.
“I didn’t even know that,” said Moore, who said Owens’ consistency was what made him the perfect choice.
“I think he’s had a great tournament. He’s been a top referee for a long time.
“He’s got a very good communication with the players and he’s very approachable within reason and that’s important, I think.”
Owens’ humorous off-the-cuff communication with players has drawn some attention this World Cup after delivering a stinging sledge to Scotland playmaker Stuart Hogg – accusing him of taking a dive during a pool game against South Africa at the home of English Premier League side Newcastle.
“Dive like that again and come back here in two weeks and play (when the football is on),” Owens told Hogg.
Champion Wallabies flanker David Pocock described Owens as one of the game’s characters, but wouldn’t reveal any of the sledges he’d been hit with from the Welshman.
“People love him for the way he interacts with players and his honesty out there on the field, the cheeky little remarks,” he said.
“It’s always good fun.
“I think he’s the best ref in the world at the moment so very well-deserved appointment.
“I’ve been reffed by him a number of times and I find his communication and everything really good.”
Moore also confirmed the Wallabies had placed a heavy focus this week on correcting their ill-discipline in games.
In the past two weeks, since the World Cup entered the knockout stages, the Wallabies have conceded 30 points through penalties – a concerning statistic when coming up against the world-class boot of rugby union’s all-time leading pointscorer Dan Carter.
“We have talked about that. And we talked about it last week as well but there are fine lines,” Moore said.
“But there are penalties that we know we can control – things like offside – that’s really important we stay disciplined.
“But we always know that around the breakdown, tackle area, that’s an area that both teams are constantly pushing the boundaries on.
“Sometimes you’re going to be on the wrong side of that.
“We certainly want to continue testing every possession out there but we have to be really clever about how we do that.”
Wallabies record under Nigel Owens
* Australia bt Italy 23-18, Rome, 2006
* New Zealand bt Australia 26-12, Auckland, 2007
* Australia bt Fiji 55-12, Montpellier, 2007
* Australia bt England 27-17, Perth, 2010
* Australia bt USA 67-5, Wellington, 2011
* New Zealand bt Australia 22-0, Auckland, 2012
* Australia bt South Africa 26-19, Perth, 2012
* France bt Australia 33-6, Paris, 2012
* Australia bt Argentina 14-13, Perth, 2013
* South Africa bt Australia 28-10, Cape Town, 2014
* Argentina bt Australia 21-17, Mendoza, 2014
* France bt Australia 29-26, Paris, 2014
* Australia bt South Africa 24-20, Brisbane, 2015
* New Zealand bt Australia 41-13, Auckland, 2015
Record: Played 14, won 7, lost 7
New Zealand v Australia: 3-0 NZ
taylorman
Roar Guru
Have a feeling Barnes will figure significantly in this match. He's that kinda bloke!
toadflax
Roar Rookie
It is what it is. I think his style of refereeing better suits the ABs but we can play to him if we put our minds to it. One area where he really is a shocker though is letting players play the jumper in the air. He let Conrad Smith get away with blue murder at Eden Park. Smith should have been cooling his heels for 10 minutes after his second, cynical take out on AAC. I really hope he does a better job on this front this weekend.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Guest
Actually, Pocock has more activism history than the on field slur incident. He is a long term supporter of gay rights. Topic probably won't pop up during ref/player interchange on Sun morning though. Owens will be fine as a ref. And thirty of Australia's and NZ's finest young men will battle nobly, fairly and passionately. Or thereabouts. Owens won't be an issue.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Guest
Gold Whydoncha!
whydoncha
Guest
Post rugby I've heard Richie is planning on setting up his own Registered Training Organisation to instruct referees on the finer points of the game :-)
Playmaker
Guest
Are the Wallabies planning anything?
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Bit of a media beat up. Correlation doesn't mean causation. It's likely that in the games they lost, the Wallabies infringed more. So therefore if Owens refereed the Wallabies toughest games of course it would set that trend. If the team plays well enough on the weekend, what Owens does won't matter.
taylorman
Roar Guru
He does but hes training Owens for when he goes...this weekend you'll see him pointing his finger this way and that, telling Owens where to stand, who to watch...you know all those useful tips any good tutor has in store.
whydoncha
Guest
Bet a lot of people are glad of Pocock's stance against homophobic slurs now. Surely that must earn us some brownie points? :-) Word is the All Blacks are leading a gay and lesbian march somewhere in London as we speak. Not in a straight line but in an arrow formation.
Playmaker
Guest
If you had a choice of referee and it did not involve your team, would you pick Owens or Barnes? Personally, I would pick Owens, because of his ability to let a game flow eg Boks v ABs game in 2013 in Johannesburg SA
ThugbyFan
Guest
LB, conversely look at the last match where the English referee Barnes continuously allowed the Puma THP Herrara to shorten his bind and pull Slipper down. Add that Barnes and his fellow touchies allowed the other Puma props to push in at about 50 degrees and its no wonder that the Pumas stayed in the game with penalties. In two scrums, (30th and 44th minutes), the photos clearly show the Puma prop has a short bind, and is doing so right in front of referee Barnes. So in this match, the referee's interpretations of what is legal or allowed in a scrum cost Australia dearly, both in points and metres made by the Puma. This is where Rugby turns off a lot of people, who do see inconsistencies in different referees, especially in the all-in contest areas such as rucks, mauls and scrums. Many people don't like N.Owens' lackadaisical approach to the breakdown, at times its almost anything goes. Even I want to shoot the tv sometimes when he is the referee, but in other areas he is far superior and I'm sure both teams will test his mood and see what they can get away with very early in the match, then try to push those limits. Does the IRB/WR have regular workshops with their top refs to clarify that everyone sings from the same page? Would it help if coaches and referees occasionally meet, with video and photo input, to explain interpretations and expectations.
Harry
Guest
We have to have an backup plan (excuse) in case we lose.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Jerry, as you rightly pointed out yesterday, Moore will need to reign in his approach with Owens to keep on his good side.
vic rugby
Guest
Joe barton are you suggesting the wallabies have lost past games against the all blacks because of owens refereeing ?
Lancaster Bomber
Guest
Many might argue the influence of the ref. But look at the pool game between England and Australia. One of the first scrums the ref was about to penalise Wallabies when linesman notified him it was the English pulling down the scrum. By the end of the match the Wallaby scrum had totally dominated the English scrum and won about 6 penalties. If the ref had ruled the other way and assumed the Wallabies had been pulling down the scrum, the penalty count and probably the result of the game would have been very different. If this was not a direct influence from the ref then one would have to assume that over the past 10 years, this was the one and only time that the England scrum infringed at the scrum and the only time Australia didn't infringe. Unfortunately refs will always have too much influence when the laws are all about contesting the ball and players are trained to push every boundary.
Lancaster Bomber
Guest
Unfortunately refs in rugby have far too big an influence on the outcome of the game. More so than any other sport. The impact of crowds, media, coaches, reputations and preconceived ideas all sway the opinion of a ref who is judging multiple infringements in a split second, most of which are very fine-line and subjective calls. The scrum penalties seem to be a joke and the need to reward or punish a side with such severity - 3 points, penalty try or sin binning - just because the ball isn't cleared straight away and the scrum moves a bit is not only extreme, but so often debatable and the wrong decisions are made. This is why we are all talking about the ref, and when penalty counts start to blow out and become one sided questions need to be asked. There are always multiple infringements in nearly every contest for the ball. If one side is getting pinged all the time then one can assume that the infringements of the other side are being ignored.
Sir Sebastian Silver-Spoone
Guest
Nigel Owens is the referee ? I thought Richie McCaw referees every All Blacks game.
Rebel
Guest
Yes it very much implies the ref is the reason for the losses. Very strange focus, never heard so much ref blaming leading into a match. At least it sounds like the players aren't thinking this way. Have been impressed with their media duties this year.
Jerry
Guest
Of those Australian losses under Owens, only the Argentinian result could really be said to be an outlier. Perhaps the French results, but less so.
richard
Guest
Don't worry,you have got your mate Wayne Barnes running the touchline.He can be counted on to interfere at every opportunity to help Australia.