HOCKEY FAN REACTS: Nigel Owens "The Funniest Referee In The World"

[@tonic8945]

The respect for Nigel is universal and in more than 50 years of watching rugby I've never seen a better ref. Being gay has not seemed to have a negative effect on his popularity.

[@ciaranconlon84]

He could have refereed a world cup final where Wales are playing and absolutely nobody would doubt his impartiality.

[@Dementat]

Nigel Owens for PM!

[@ciaranconlon84]

@@Dementat dunno about that but he would make an amazing speaker of the house. If anyone can fill Bercow's shoes...

[@BleachDemon99]

He’s from the generation of gays who just wanted to be left alone and live their lives, unlike todays gays who want the world to be gay and bow to their every whim….I’m straight and I love Nigel Owens to bits 🤗

[@richardmaguire9536]

@@BleachDemon99 He only made it an issue once when an individual kept up a stream of vile abuse. He stopped the game and had the stewards eject him. He said for himself he did not give a damn, he had come to terms with himself years ago, but he did it for any rugby mad teenager who was having the same issues he had growing up and who may be in the crowd.

[@Philcoxon]

"I'm straighter than that one", 😂 Nigel is gay, great sportsman, and funny.

[@jforden78]

There is a saying I've heard a long while back ... Soccer is a gentleman's game played by hooligans, and rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentleman.

[@robn71]

Correct I remember hearing that same saying when I was a kid in the 80"s

[@jukeseyable]

but with time the memory becomes flawed. the saying is Rugby a game played by hooligans, watched by gentlemen. football, a game played by gentlemen and watched by hooligans

[@raylumley5019]

And rugby league is a hooligans game played by hooligans

[@nicholaswalker4791]

As an English man, I'd happily have Nigel ref a match between Wales and England as I trust him to red fairly. Excellent ref

[@rickybuhl3176]

Proper job!! Nigel's a bloody legend.

[@misschieflolz1301]

2:17 - As someone that grew up in Wales, Nigel here displays that everlasting calm that we used to get from our teachers. If you were spoken to like that, you know you did something wrong. No harsh reprimands or anything, just that calm disappointment making you feel bad. The only teachers that actually got a bit testy and angry weren't from Wales, you could tell. But it's just the subtle, calm, no-nonsense approach that really makes him great

[@Philcoxon]

Ya, right.

[@Cherismile]

Now I wanna move to Wales after reading that!

[@epicwalrus7183]

When I heard "Christopher" with *that* tone of voice at 6:45 I was immediately transported back to school

[@tonic8945]

A yellow card is ten minutes in the sin bin, a red card is off. You cannot replace a player sent off. Two yellow cards equals a red.

[@amancalledconor]

All cards (red and yellow) reduce the number of players on the field - the offending team cannot replace the carded player.

[@davidchalk8883]

Pretty much

[@martinsear5470]

Nigel is without doubt the best Rugby referee ever. Total legend.

[@nathaliecordier-p2c]

Nigel Owens is and will remain a very great referee

[@DevonRex116]

I could listen to him all day. Every game was a little rugby masterclass.

[@ToddyWestropp]

I was lucky enough to be reffed by him when I played womens rugby in the 90’s. He struggled to keep a straight face because our line out calls were revoltingly funny. Great man.

[@EamonnReacts]

That's amazing

[@ToddyWestropp]

@ I remember going to twickenham stadium a few years later. Realised he was the ref we loved. Even at the lower level he was so funny but fair. Legend.

[@nicksykes4575]

"If you're going too cheat, cheat fairly"........Nigel Owens".

[@squirlygeorge]

Absolutely loving your rugby reactions man!! It's the best sport in the world and it's cool to watch you get into rugby and meet all the characters.

[@KernowekTim]

Nigel set the bar for refereeing excellence, in my opinion. He understood how rugby players 'tick'. New Zealand's Ben O'Keefe is a very good up-and coming referee. He'll mature into a refereeing 'Great', too, in time I think. Both have an understanding that firm, no nonsense handling of warriors, with a huge hit of humour, is the means by which to "guide them". Men in combat understand that sort of craic🏴‍☠☘😉.

[@conorpp1]

Rugby is actually called Rugby Football. So to make sure there is no confusion people will sometimes use soccer.

[@shellcross]

We say soccer in South Africa as well. Our professional league is called Premier Soccer League. He takes the shots at soccer because soccer players are known for onfield drama and arguing with the ref for penalties and free kick. Rugby players on the contrary are said to be more disciplined and generally accept the cdecisions of the ref.

[@EamonnReacts]

Oh cool for some reason I thought it was just an american term. I knew why he was using soccer/football as an insult though ha. Love some Ronaldo dives.

[@overthewebb]

@@EamonnReacts soccer is used as a term in the UK, by the middle classes in general, which is why it's seen as a negative to the majority who are working-class. Football was always used by the working classes, it was played by. All football teams and stadia in the UK are in working-class areas. Rugby was officially called Rugby football. In the UK generally, rugby was and is played at private schools, which we call public schools for some bizarre reason. However in Wales, rugby is the national sport, so they use the term soccer more than most and Ireland uses the term soccer as what they call football is Gaelic football. Upper class Rugby fans in the past would call Rugby football. It's only relatively recently where the game of football/soccer has been accepted and taken over by the upper classes in the UK, which a lot of working-class people in the UK resent, which is why they resent the word soccer used so much. It's a class divide and war for sure historically in the sport

[@johnchrysostomon6284]

In cricket they introduced a ‘stump cam’ ( a camera in the wicket) and they said they were going to have the mic on all the time. The Australian wicket keeper (think ‘catcher’ in baseball) didn’t want everything he said recorded so he started to loudly praise brands and products that were in competition with the sponsors. So they quickly turned the mic off.

[@christinecaufield6166]

One of the best ones I ever heard from Nigel was "If you're going to cheat then cheat fair" lol

[@arkravengullmead6029]

refs are mic'd up in big games (6nations, RWC ect) and the ref cam is a new (ish) addition to this to try and see what the ref is looking at, not used much except in telling offs like this clip @5:09. If the video ref or 4th official is used you can hear what they are saying back and forth and why a certain replay is being used/ or what they are looking at

[@raybenstead2548]

Wayne Barnes an English rugby referee was in Australia and told a joke about Nigel which was so funny and well worth a view so look for Wayne Barnes joke about Nigel Owens. Oh and yes Nigel Owens was a most respected referee much admired and loved.

[@JohnWhite-mr3ec]

Students at the University of Oxford in 1880s distinguished between the sports of rugger (rugby football) and assoccer (association football) the later was further shorted to soccer and spread beyond the campus.

[@danielevers250]

Loved the vid. Just a small point of advice maybe. Have the vid volume the same as yours. Had to turn it up to hear Nigel. But then you were to loud. ❤

[@andyt2k]

"that's the end of the conversation" Yes sir mr owens sir

[@grumben123]

Nigel is awesome. Top level rugby mics the refs so viewers can hear the commentary, which makes the refereeing more transparent and to my mind more enjoyable. Referees are awarded more respect than other sports, with limited talking back, questioning of calls. Players are better behaved as a result. I don’t understand why more sports don’t move to the refereeing model that rugby uses.

[@wozzablog]

He was using a mobile phone on the field because the radio coms with the video official in the stand had stopped working and some messages were being relayed.

[@gaillspalding3306]

I love Nigel Owens I really missed him and his amazing one liners. I loved his I'm straighter than that line out. 10:51

[@rocketrabble6737]

A "charge down" most commonly is a player blocking a kick 'from hand' (a punt from a ball carrier in open play) with his body and fully extended (upright arms) . When charged down the ball will generally go forward, but it is not deemed to be a 'knock on', the ball is live and play continues.

[@paulthomas8262]

Some people call football soccer in Wales it is a very rugby oriented country. In Ireland too because of Gaelic football.

[@CJ_McK]

Thanks for checking out my suggestion :D There's also a "10 more minutes of Nigel Owens" video, if you're looking for more from him. You're totally right about how different ref's will make different calls, Nigel is known for a no nonsense, clean game. Maybe a little strict at times. Takes a special kind of man to walk onto a field of giants, make them look like a bunch of school kids, and then walk off with their respect.

[@EamonnReacts]

Awesome I'll probably do that vid sometime in the future cause this was one so good. Thanks for the ref info.

[@conorpp1]

A player is normally given a yellow card for repeated infringements by the team. The player is removed from the game for 10 minutes. No replacement can be made for this player and the offending team is down to 14 players for that period

[@Jay_GT]

Also wanted to mention this but saw your comment :-)

[@Stephen-fl3zj]

Goated 😂 Penalty kick you can not charge down, but with a try conversion the defense can charge down the kicker when he makes his run up to kick the ball, defense has to start on the goal line. You would generally only see one maybe two players from the defense try to go for the charge down, it rarely happens but always exciting when it does, most recent one i can think of is cheslin colbi in the world cup. Yellow card = 10 min off the field and you will be down one man Red card = off the field for the rest of the match and you will be one man less for the rest of the match

[@paulmidsussex3409]

Red card you are normally suspended so you can't be selected for the next game, sometimes after a review, longer.

[@Stephen-fl3zj]

yeah what he said lol

[@BrendenCorlet]

And if a player receives a 2nd yellow card, it changes to a red.

[@simonwellsted]

One of the very few refs who is allowed to ref in a game with his own nationality team in

[@jazzx251]

In soccer - a yellow card is a warning. If you get another one, you are permanently thrown out of the game (2 yellows = 1 red, which means game over) In rugby, it's the same - but the yellow card also means being removed from the game for 10 minutes - and your team is down a man, causing a powerplay for your opponents - just like in hockey

[@Ranger_ZA]

100% correct on refs being different. The international teams don't just prepare for the team their playing against by analysing their gameplays, but they analyse the refs previous matches also, to see where the refs are more lenient or more strict. They also get a ref into their training camps, to have a better grip on the rules.

[@anitaherbert1037]

You dont get a sub for a penalty. So you know if you make a penalty your team is 1 player down. Nigel referreed International games. Another iconic Nigelism to two players who kept pushing and shoving each other ' if you got to keep touching each other save it for off the field'

[@sdeepj]

I wish Nigel Owens can skate, because he’s be awesome hockey ref

[@GoldenKaos]

Soccer used to be a perfectly normal term in the UK, it just tended to be a slightly posher way of referring to Association Football compared to just "football". Over time, football replaced it so entirely that people start (incorrectly) believing that soccer is actually an Americanism rather than a British English term the US still had use for long after it had become somwhat redundant in the UK. There is a slightly older generation of sportsmen and sports teachers who do still use the word soccer, perhaps because that's the word they were taught, or maybe it's something that still has some use for "Rugby Football" players.

[@jameswg13]

actually in the IIHF tournaments they still have the cameras on their heads. IIHF releases best of ref cam videos during the worlds

[@mivuyonkabi5780]

A lot of English speaking countries use the word soccer. The soccer-football rivalry seems to be more of an American thing

[@EamonnReacts]

ah interesting

[@glastonbury4304]

​@EamonnReacts ...the term soccer started in England in the late 1800's as a short name for Association football to differentiate from Rugby football...then later on it just became football and Rugby...

[@OOFNeRF]

yellow card gets you sent off for 10 minutes (referred to as the sin bin) - your team is down to 14 men for that time. red card gets you sent off for the rest of the match and your team will be down to 14 for the remainder of the match

[@icedem1]

He’s the MVP of Referees.

[@rocketrabble6737]

If you are shown a yellow card by a referee you are in the 'sin bin' for ten minutes, with no replacement, your team is down to 14. If you are shown a red card for a more serious offence, you are sent off for the rest of the game and you do not have a replacement!

[@johndenverfan]

Nigel Is The Best Ref In Rugby Union History

[@Stewart682]

The full name of rugby is "Rugby Union Football" so "Football" is kind of a generic term for any similar sport. Nigel uses "Soccer" to emphasize which version he's talking about.

[@divvydavey]

When a player is yellow carded they go off for 10 minutes but are not replaced.

[@user-TonyUK]

Not sure if this applys to Scotland and England but in Wales the Game in known as Rugby Football

[@gavinhall6040]

Check out "The Atherstone ball game" 2023

[@bushbabybotha9943]

Soccer is used all over the world, we call it soccer in South Africa too.

[@Badgersj]

"Soccer" is used in the UK, it's a contraction of the formal name of the game, "Association Football". Since rugby is really one of the various forms of football I suppose he's using "soccer" to distinguish it from the game they're playing there, i.e. Rugby Union. "Soccer" isn't an American word but it's used in America for the same reasons Nigel is using it here.

[@Tully_23_32]

Soccer is used in Australia since we play League, Union & AFL. Our men's national team are actually known as the Socceroos

[@Tidbit0123]

@@Tully_23_32Its also mostly known as soccer in New Zealand as well

[@robinbrown8749]

If British people complain or correct you for calling it Soccer, they are just winding you up. No-one seriously minds.

[@yoluko4750]

The 10 minutes off is a yellow card, and the team is down a man. A red card means out for the rest of the game, and again, they're not replaced. The mobile phone was for speaking to the TMO, the television match official, who watches the video replays and reviews plays. Usually communication with the on field referee is done via radios, but the system stopped working, hence the phone. I think the reason for calling it soccer is that rugby is actually rugby football, so sometimes rugby is just referred to as football, especially by its fans. Soccer is derived from the word association, from association football, the sport's official name. The last one seemed confusing, but it was actually really good communication. He was talking to the TMO, who can only overturn an on field decision if they have clear evidence to do so. Here Nigel has awarded a try, then gone to the TMO to see if that decision should be overturned. The TMO responds that there is no reason that you can't award the try. Because he is saying he has no reason to overturn the decision, he has phrased it using a double negative, which is confusing. Nigel clarifies that this means that he can award the try, then blows the whistle to conform the TMO call. Nigel is also openly gay, hence the "I'm straighter than that one" line.

[@wozzablog]

Indeed the RFU is "Rugby football Union"

[@rudolphvanrooyen2655]

If you disrespect the ref, or call him a cheat, he can give you a yellow card(10 min in the sin bin, no sub)

[@jeffnic3116]

In rugby, you get hit and pounded, you get up and carry on playing. In professional football (soccer), you get just a tiny touch and you have the right to roll on the ground in excruciating pain, apparently. Hopefully threw this process you can milk a penalty, or a card on your opponent.

[@Ranger_ZA]

Nigel was referring to a yellow card, so they will be down a man. You can only replace for an injury/blood. Yellow/red, you can't replace players.

[@simonhartley1667]

Atleast you didn't talk through the main bits 👍

[@milesdust3465]

Who is that player at 10.03?

[@smooth9019]

Very unknown but he is gay, thats why the lineout comment is so funny

[@paulmcquaide637]

I have always respected him for that comment, funny and to the point, a really great reff.

[@robinbrown8749]

His telling of his coming out to his parents was funny. They responded with something like "yeah, we kind of figured" (only in Welsh). He was quite disappointed as he thought he had worked so hard at hiding it,

[@rogerorgan5278]

Unlike soccer (and other sports), in rugby a yellow card is not a warning but a 10min leaving of the field. No player comes on to take your place to restore the team number.

[@johnm8224]

He's retired now, and is now a cattle farmer! :) If a player is shown a yellow card for a foul or conduct that is more serious than just awarding a penalty, but not so severe to warrant a red card (permanent sending off), the player must spend 10 minutes (as measured by the game clock) in the "sin bin", and is NOT replaced during this time, so his side IS down one man.

[@paulmidsussex3409]

Rugby players consider themselves to be footballers, so they say soccer to differentiate from real football (i.e. Rugby). Soccer is a term originally associated with University teams when very few people went to study at University so when it started to be used I think it is what Americans would refer to as "preppy". Working class people would always refer to football as football. Also I think Nigel is from an area where a significant minority of people have English as a second language and it has its own distinctive dialect of Welsh so I wouldn't assume his speech is typical.

[@dcbbot]

This narrative is pushed hard but is way exagerated. While the word originated from oxford university around 1880, and was most prevalent in public schools, it was also used outside these circles. It also shows up a lot in newspapers, not just high falutin broadsheets, until the late 70s, where there was an orchestrated marketing effort to disassociate the term soccer from the sport, in order to try to strengthen some weird argument that soccer is the 'real' football. This backlash was seemignyl mroe related to the American tendency to use soccer, and refer to gridiron as football, than what was ahppenign with English toffs, who by that stage called rugby union , rugby and veryone who knew the diference called rugby league, league.

[@paulmidsussex3409]

@@dcbbot Interesting, can you give an example of a British "Soccer" writer using the word soccer in a British newspaper or the word soccer appearing in an English football league match day program from the first half of the 20th century.

[@robertoprestigiacomo253]

The comment about soccer is because in that sport is excessively common to have players diving and very dramatically pretending they're hurt to get penalties. In rugby is less accepted so when it happens, referees remind players that rugby is not soccer.

[@wozzablog]

Partly he says "soccer" sometimes, as mentioned below to differentiate it from "Rugny Football£, but the *way* he says it half the time is with a fair degree of contempt as to how soccer players behave

[@samleigh7817]

No they can’t sub in for a 10 minutes yellow card (sin bin) or for a red card (out of the game) In Football, players try to fool the ref, diving and simulation, unlike rugby where players try to fool the ref they are fine. Both games are called football, association football and rugby football, so his catchphrase of ‘it’s not soccer’ is to differentiate.

[@annabrisley479]

In South Africa and some other African countries it's called soccer. It's not football. You also have the Soccer World cup

[@guiguijol]

10 minutes out is basically yellow card.

[@stephengibson4217]

If a rugby player receives a yellow card he leave the field for ten minutes and their team plays a man short for the ten minutes then he comes back on

[@jasonwhite7890]

Please can you do some Fred dibnah reactions.

[@paulbromley6687]

It is strange how a very violently physical game like rugby has no great problem with gay players and refs over time it has simply evolved. Yet Soccer a physical but less violent sport has a long way to go with dealing with acceptance of gay players and officials.

[@ffotograffydd]

If they get sent off for ten minutes the team is then down a player, otherwise it would be more of a rest than a punishment. 😂

[@stephenhoran5298]

They get a yellow card, that's 10 minutes in the sin-bin, and the side is one down for the 10 minutes! two yellow cards and it changes to red, that's off for rest of game, so your side is one down. in the UK soccer and football are the same thing!

[@russellmonk6575]

Rugby Football this video a Association Football “soccer”

[@alexallpress6238]

No if you are off for 10 mins you are down a player. It’s called sin bin. So don’t mess up cos you cost your team. Rugby is the best

[@columlennon]

Since you're a hockey fan which is a sport created by bored Irish immigrants during a Canadian winter you should check out the ancient Irish sport of hurling that hockey came from

[@icedem1]

Nah man if you are sent off you go down a man!!

[@garethjones6082]

Nigel owens is a sheep farmer also he has a podcast on here

[@Fcutdlady]

The comment I'm straighter then that one is especially funny as nigel isn't straight at all . ( he is gay)

[@rudierasmus8162]

this is not soccer lol

[@daviel6595]

Sub

[@parkiwi4787]

Nigel is missed, he was respected by all, including the players. Hey I didn't even blame him refereeing an All Black loss.

[@duncanwyer2460]

Nigel now runs a cattle farm since his retirement from rugby 🏉

[@EamonnReacts]

I wonder if he uses the same tone when speaking to his cattle

[@ChrisTravelss]

@@EamonnReacts Now you listen to me, eh, listen. I do not expect you to be jumping over fences and running around. You are not horses. Your job is to produce milk. If I hear another moo out of you, you'll be next in line for the leather factory. Okay? Thank you