Nigel Owens: The Final Whistle: The long-awaited sequel to his bestselling autobiography!

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Apparently, Gats had gone straight in the following day after the dinner to say he wasn’t sure what was going on, ‘But you need to give Nige a new contract and give it to him right now. You need to hold on to your best referee, not just for the next World Cup but also so that he can work with and coach future referees after he’s finished.’

Just wanted to drop a note to say what a fantastic speaker Nigel was yesterday. Unscripted authentic and both our Directors and staff were really inspired yesterday. He's a great speaker! - Hiral, VOA Switching from Wales to England didn’t seem right though, particularly after the enormous support most at the WRU had given me down the years, including my two previous referees’ managers, Bob Yeman and Clive Norling. I certainly didn’t want to walk out on that, but the stand-off over a new deal was forcing my hand and at one point I was considering the move." Yet despite his status as the greatest referee of his generation, Owens outlines how he reluctantly held talks with English referees' chief Tony Spreadbury because of a contract dispute.

We detail here just a small section of some of the ones Owens writes about in his new book: This is not soccer My contract was due to run out on 1 June 2016, so not long after the end of the tournament,” Owens writes in the autobiography. Newcastle were playing Norwich at St James’ in a fortnight and again, in my eyes it was merely a reference to some of the play-acting that can blight football and I was letting Hogg know what he did wasn’t acceptable. I don’t know why I uttered those particular words, maybe I’d watched a few football games beforehand and saw attempts to con the referee which annoyed me? Of the issue previously, he writes: “Now, a few years on and given everything I’ve managed to achieve, you might think what was happening was a little strange, particularly as so many people were predicting ‘Nigel Owens will be getting the final’ prior to the World Cup commencing. SIGN UP: Get the latest exclusive stories and breaking rugby headlines sent straight to your inbox for free with our daily newsletter. You'll also get a weekly take on what's happening behind the scenes from rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas.

But while Owens is candid about events that happened, for the most part this is a hugely positive book which he feels will make the reader smile - 'even bring an occasional tear to the eye', he says. Record-holding international referee, Nigel Owens is a key figure of Rugby Union and has been presiding over matches since 1987. The calm amongst the chaos of the game, Nigel’s ability to make effective decisions and perform under pressure has seen him lead an impressive career, and as a speaker, he now translates these skills to the boardroom. Nigel’s influence doesn’t stop on the pitch as he is also recognised for his contributions to LGBT+ and mental health advocacy, having been one of the first in the male-dominated sport’s history to come out as openly gay. With such an extensive career and public reach, Nigel is perfectly placed as a captivating after-dinner speaker or insightful diversity keynote speaker.The law is quite clear, the maul is formed, held up, unplayable, turnover ball, no issues whatsoever,’ I explained to the skipper. One of the main reasons why I gave up refereeing was I just didn’t want to do all the travelling anymore. You’re away for eight or nine weeks for World Cups and then there’s conferences and training camps and, after doing it for the best part of 25 years, I just didn’t want to do it anymore. A European Cup game at The Stoop between Robshaw’s Harlequins and Castres. A lineout throw from Quins hooker Dave Ward is so crooked it’s caught by team-mate Robshaw almost in the scrum-half position. I don’t know why I said Christopher, rather than Chris, it just happened. I suppose it’s the kind of thing a lot of us get when growing up, realising we’ve done something wrong when our full name is suddenly used. In my case, instead of Nige it became Nigel, with some emphasis thrown in. You know then enough is enough, you’ve crossed the line.

Gwyn Jones: Warren Gatland must prove he is not yesterday’s man who refuses to accept the game has moved onNigel Owens has opened up in detail for the first time about his famous on-pitch sayings which became social media sensations and thrilled fans, pundits and TV commentators right across the world. So, what am I thinking? Well, it’s not a case of do I want to do it, but, more, is it practically possible for me to do it?