Nigel Owens on his 'concerns' for an Itoje led Lions and why he prefers Alun Wyn Jones should
Nigel Owens maintains that Wales legend Alun Wyn Jones and not Maro Itoje should lead the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.
What’s more, the Welsh refereeing icon says he would also place Jones ahead of England star Owen Farrell, whose form has dipped in recent months.
It’s widely perceived that the trio are locked in a metaphorical shoot-out for the captaincy, although Wales’ performances during the Guinness Six Nations has put Jones firmly back as favourite to get the nod from Lions head coach Warren Gatland.
Writing in his Wales Online column, Owens said that Itoje’s reputation for giving away penalties is a signficant negative from a refereeing perspective.
“I must emphasise I have enormous regard for Farrell and Itoje, who each possess huge strengths of their own,” wrote Owens. “I’ve refereed Farrell many times for England, always found him to be respectful and a terrific player who leads by example in his own right. I expect him to be one of the favourites to start against South Africa, despite England’s poor form in the Six Nations.
“Perhaps Farrell isn’t guaranteed his place in the way he would have been a year ago, but Gatland knows what he can do. And what’s that saying about form being temporary, class permanent?”
Itoje, who many feel is the best second row in the world, came under heavy criticism during the Six Nations, most notably against Wales, were he gave away four penalties in the first half alone.
“I guess the same applies to Itoje, but one of my concerns with him being Lions captain just yet is the number of penalties he gives away. It’s not a good look when your captain keeps being pinged.”
Although Alun Wyn Jones was a little confrontational with referees in his early days, Owens says that his fellow Welshman’s cool head and demeanor make him ideal as a communicator.
“Others look up to [Jones] and follow him, he’s a good leader inside the dressing room and the opposition also respect him.
“Crucially, so do referees as well. Perhaps Alun Wyn was a little vocal in his early days, but he’s learned a lot with experience and knows exactly when to, and how to, approach referees.
“I’ve spoken to him a few times over the years about this sort of thing, when he should step in, how to say things, but, more importantly, when he should step back and how not to say things to a referee.
“He possesses a stature, calm manner and respectful choice of words that we like.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Something fishy is going on here. Earlier this year Dame Patsy Reddy was threatening to step down if the review recommendations didn’t go through now it’s the professional players association going nuclear. It looks like a theft attempt by the executive and the association. Is there a big backer in the shadows? The clubs and by extension the unions own the game in NZ yet they are being told to shut up and have no say in the running of the game they have created and own. Ok let them go and do what they want but they can’t call themselves the ABs or the super or npc sides. At the end of everything this is a sport not a path to enrichment.
2 Go to commentsI would say NB that the 7 who has the skills to play as an extra half is Billy Harmon of the Highlanders. He does everything expected of an openside with ruck, tackle and run but he has a good pass. Robertson might of opted for Christie at the Crusaders moving Harmon on but that allowed him to break out of the Crusaders system and show his full range of skills.
54 Go to commentsHe is right. How do you pick the two? Ospreys and Cardiff?
2 Go to commentsSam like many had passed their use by dates and that is down to the selectors, not the player. I wasn't a Sam fan, but he didn’t deserve Bidwells brutally honest opinion. Could have been more diplomatic.
3 Go to commentsNice piece nick, mcreight is immense. Just like hooper, he seems to be indefatigable and sprint the full 80 from one involvement to the next. Like DuPont, its like they can see an extra phase ahead which means they know where to be before everyone else. His support and link play for mine is his real point of difference, and now he is lifting the other areas up as well. One key improvement is when to jackal or not, he used to go for everything and get pinged or stuck in the ruck. His decision making in this area has really improved. He seems to be quite competitive, and like faz not afraid to chew out a teammate. If he went down, both the reds and wallabies would be in trouble. I’d lean towards Wright or Wilkin/Gamble I think, I don’t think many of the other candidates have the work rate or ruck presence that is needed of a 7. Interestingly, the reds lineout fell apart on the weekend without faessler, although the maul still functioned. The heat seemed to affect their decision making, I think they needed to adjust to a low possession, simple game plan but they went head strong with a high possession game even though they couldn’t hold onto it, secure their ruck or their set piece…
54 Go to commentsExpecting those provincial fish-heads to vote themselves out of power is like expecting turkeys to vote for Christmas. Good luck with that!
2 Go to commentsA brilliant winger..
1 Go to commentsGood player, but how could anyone have filled RMCs shoes.? Also, I hope Razor implements better & indeed more legal tackling, the AB’s concede way too many cards. Looking forward to the new regime though.
10 Go to commentsGood article, NB. I’ve quite liked the speed and skill levels of Tom Ahern from Munster. I read he was a fullback until late in schools rugby and suddenly shot up to 6 foot 9. Another guy born in 2000 who seems to be able to play out in trams on both sides of the ball is Juan Martin Gonzalez of Saracens. Thanks for the article.
54 Go to commentsShould not even be in the thought to bring Barrett back,the team is going well and remember 2 season ago when the blues were going well & got out thought & out played in the final all Barrett did was needlessly kick away posession again and again, pass to players in worse positions as to avoid contact and for the Blues and AB proved costly in crucial games.
3 Go to commentsBarbarians will be preparing for fiji starting end of this week but fiji will be preparing only 1 week b4 the game…..so unfair
1 Go to commentsI believe it was the Wallaby Nick White who opened the floodgates - earning his team a yellow card against SA and getting Faf binned for 10. Nick White. The original soft pr1ck, diving git. Owen Farrell is growing on me.
2 Go to commentsTo be honest this result was not that seismic as shock, Canada are a very good team and very few teams fear the Black Ferns anymore. The rankings give a good picture, the top four ranked teams are the top four teams in women’s rugby with England ahead the other three can exchange places at any given time. Despite the USA result I still think Australia are ahead of the rest. WXV will show how big the gap is between nations.
9 Go to commentsFarrell playing in France next season better get use to play acting .
3 Go to commentsNot sure I see the magic. Solid flanker but the aggression and lack of bending at the hips leads to boo boos
10 Go to comments100%. Thank you, Andy.
2 Go to commentsFabulous player. Don’t know if people outside of Ireland appreciate his vision and genius. I wish he got more time with the National team. We will never know how high he could have soared. Super season to end with!
1 Go to commentsIf he's playing well enough to be in the top 2 or 3 open sides, then pick him. Essentially nothing else should come into it.
1 Go to commentsBe really surprised if Beale is considered for a WB squad, let alone a match day 23. Feel there are too many younger players in all positions in the backline now who should be developed. These upcoming games this year should be used to develop the players of the future, for building towards next RWC.
2 Go to commentsI think this all came from Fozzie immediately anointing Cane as captain when he became coach, well ahead of when any team was to be named. Then he seemingly felt unable to retract the captaincy as that would have been an admission he was wrong initially. Sam Cane was a good AB and a good captain. Through his injuries and some loss of form he maybe didn't deserve selection but Fozzie couldn't ever make that hard call which led to Cane copping it.
10 Go to comments