Ireland AM to air exclusive interview with Welsh International rugby union referee Nigel Owens.

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Sharon McHugh
TV3 PRESS OFFICE
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Ciara Byrne
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ciara.byrne@tv3.ie

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IMMEDIATE: Friday 30th May, 2014.

 

 

Ireland AM to air exclusive interview with Welsh International rugby union referee Nigel Owens.

 

Ireland AM will, on Tuesday 3rd June, air an exclusive interview with Welsh International rugby union referee Nigel Owens.

 

Mr Owens describes Brian O’Driscoll as a “legend” and ‘a “true ambassador for rugby”.

 

Speaking about his personal life, the referee discusses struggling with his sexuality and attempting to take his own life.

 

To watch exclusive clips of the interview click here and here.

 

Ireland AM airs Monday to Friday from 7am – 10.45am on TV3.

 

Ireland AM will air an exclusive interview with Welsh International rugby union referee Nigel Owens on Tuesday 3rd June. Widely regarded as the best rugby union referee in the world, Mr Owens speaks openly about how he struggled with his sexuality and his thoughts on Brian O’Driscoll, who is set to play his last ever game of rugby tomorrow when Leinster clash with Glasgow Warriors at the Rabo Direct Pro 12 final.

 

Speaking to Ireland AM’s Sinead Desmond, Mr Owens says that numerous players can become stars after a couple of good games but only a few have the longevity to maintain this, and BOD is one of them.

 

“He’s not only a great player but a great man as well, a true ambassador for rugby on the field and off the field. And there's not many of them that you come by. And you look back at some of the big names like in Ireland you'd have Willie John McBride, one of the legends of the game, and Brian O'Driscoll will be one of them. And there's not many of those people about as time goes by that you look back on and admire by what he achieved on the field and what a good bloke he is off the field as well. But he'll definitely be one of those.”

 

Despite being hailed the best rugby union referee in the world, he still retains his modesty and admits that he’s only human and may have got it wrong on occasion. When Sinead quizzes him on whether these wrong calls could have changed the outcome of games he replies: “It does happen sometimes, it does.”

 

Mr Owens also speaks candidly about struggling with his sexuality and how he attempted to take his own life.

 

“I think that's the biggest challenge for most people. Whether you're dealing with sexuality, whether you're dealing with a problem in work, marriage, whatever it is, and accepting you have a problem is the biggest challenge I think I've come across. And to be brought up in an old fashioned way in fact, didn't really know what a gay person was, or what he looked like until I was in my late teens really when I was dealing with it with myself, and between that and other issues, because of that I got hooked on steroids and became bulimic with all these issues going on.

 

“I did something one night that I will regret for the rest of my life. I left a note for my Mum and Dad and took an overdose and if I hadn't been found within twenty minutes I was gone. I was airlifted to hospital and thankfully I was in for five or six days and the doctor told me you were lucky if it had of been twenty minutes later we wouldn't have been able to save you and lying in the hospital bed, the only child, and my Mum and dad came into see me and my Mum said if you ever do anything like that again, then you take me and your Dad with you. And I thought to myself 'What the hell have I done here?'

 

And that was the moment when I thought 'I need to grow up here'. I need to accept who I am. There's nothing I can do about it. This is who I am, and that's when I accepted. That was the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life was accept who I was, and then came the next challenge then of can i carry on refereeing in the macho world of rugby, what are people going to say, what are my friends, family? You know, what are rugby players going to say? Are they going to say 'Oh I don't want him refereeing', would I be allowed to referee? And then that was the next challenge, but that challenge was nothing compared to the challenge of dealing with yourself, of who you are.”

 

For a full transcript of the interview see Notes to the Editor.

 

Ireland AM airs Monday to Friday from 7am – 10.45am on TV3.

 

Images have been sent to your picture desks

 

ENDS

 

Notes to the Editor

 

Sinead:

Now our next guest is Wales', and possibly the worlds, finest referee. He is officiated in many of the sport's biggest matches including this weekend's Rabo Direct pro twelve clash between Leinster and Glasgow warriors. Joining us this morning, I'm very excited to meet him, is player's choice for a referee Nigel Owens. Nigel, a huge privilege for me to meet you, you've given me so many great memories across my life as a rugby fan, I thank you for that. Now, we're going to talk first of all about the big match tomorrow night, because I want to talk about Brian tomorrow night. It's his final hurrah, a big final farewell for him. I know you can't talk about the match and who you would like to win or where your preferences lie, but Brian has given us some extraordinary rugby. He is a player who is quite unique; he's probably one of the world's finest players. Would you consider him so?

 

Nigel:

Definitely, you get players that sort of become stars for a couple of games or for a period of a couple of years, but when you think he's been probably the best centre in the world for the best part of a decade if not a bit more, and even now, when his career's coming to an end, he's still one of the players you'd want on your team sheet. There are a lot of great players in the world, not many of them are great for that period of time. And even less of them are great players and great people and genuine rugby people as well and he's one of them. Not only a great player but a great man as well, a true ambassador for rugby on the field and off the field. And there's not many of them that you come by. And you look back at some of the big names like in Ireland you'd have Willie John McBride, one of the legends of the game, and Brian O'Driscoll will be one of them. And there are not many of those people about as time goes by that you look back on and admire by what he achieved on the field and what a good bloke he is off the field as well. But he'll definitely be one of those.

 

Sinead:

How does it work when you're a referee and you love the game, and say you've just seen Brian score the most amazing try, and in your brain you're thinking 'Oh that was incredible!', but you park that side of you, you park the fan side of you, and you have your referee head on. So how do you learn, because as a true fan of the game, you love the game, so you're going to have a natural response, but you're thinking about it purely from a referee perspective.

 

Nigel:

Yes, and I think a lot of it is because the pressure on you in the matches, especially the big matches is massive. When you think I'm going to make a decision in a split second and I know that everybody is going to be looking at this decision three of four times again, slowing it down to slow motion and then making their mind up. And I'm going to make it like that, so the pressure on you is massive and the biggest pressure of it is dealing with that pressure and concentrating for those 80 minutes, and getting those decisions right so most of the time you're pretty oblivious to what goes on. I go home and people say what a great game at the weekend and I'm like was it? You know you're in a game and a hard game and a great occasion and stuff, but it's only when I sit down and I have to review my own game and my own performance then, when I get home during the week, and I say oh it was a great game. But you do sometimes appreciate, some trys will be scored and you're thinking God that was a hell of a try.

 

Sinead:

What was the toughest decision you ever had to make then?

 

Nigel:

On the field or off the field?

 

Sinead:

On the field, on the field. We'll talk about the off the field decision in a minute. But on the field, where you just had to go, ok it's a big one.

 

Nigel:

Ye there'll be a lot of them because sometimes when scores are really close towards the end of the game......

 

Sinead:

You're changing people's careers, futures, you've got fans who are going to love you or hate you.

 

Nigel:

And, you see the easy decisions to make in rugby are the popular ones. The unpopular ones are usually the big ones and the right ones. And for you to make those right ones it can make you unpopular but I'm there to do a job. I'm not there to be popular. I'm there to make the right decision and there's been a lot of decisions over the years where you say 'this is a huge call' and you just hope to yourself, hope I got that right. And most of the time they are thankfully.

 

Sinead:

Most of the time?

 

Nigel:

God I'm only human I make mistakes.

 

Sinead:

Do you look back sometimes and think I make mistakes?

 

Nigel:

Yes, I do. It's impossible to referee a rugby match and not make a mistake, it's impossible. You're never going to do it, and if any young referee out there's thinking, right I'm going to go on the field and I'm going to be one hundred per cent correct in everything I do, it's impossible. But the better you are, and a little bit of luck on the way as well, the mistakes you do make, they don't really matter in the game, they're lost in the game.

 

Sinead:

So you don’t look back and think 'Oh Gosh I made the wrong call there that could have changed the outcome of the game'.

 

Nigel:

It does happen sometimes, it does.

 

Sinead:

God that's very honest of you to say that Nigel.

 

Nigel:

Well you've got to and unfortunately we're not allowed as referees to say after the game 'sorry I got that wrong'.

 

Sinead:

Save it for the book.

 

Nigel:

I've got one book out half time which came out about three years ago. The reason behind the name half time is that when I do finish there'll be one called full time.

 

Sinead:

Full time, that's when it can all come out

 

Nigel:

It'll be no holds barred in that anyways.

 

Sinead:

Can we talk about, and you referenced it there, another tough decision made off the field and that was when you came out, and we were chatting about it there and I was talking about my brother coming out and how difficult it was for him, but for you as a man surrounded by the world of rugby, the macho, tough world of rugby, to come out, you really struggled with that big time, and telling your parents you said you told your Mam and you got your Mam to tell your Dad because you were so worried about telling him.

 

Nigel:

There are two of the biggest challenges that I've come across in my life, and I think that most people have come across in their life, the biggest challenge of all was not how are people going to react, am I going to be able to carry on with my referring career, and to think that you have to make a choice between being whop you are and carrying on in your sport or career is a choice that nobody should have to make, but the biggest challenge, the most difficult decision and challenge of all was accepting who I am. And I think that's the biggest challenge for most people. Whether you're dealing with sexuality, whether you're dealing with a problem in work, marriage, whatever it is, and accepting you have a problem is the biggest challenge I think I've come across. And to be brought up in an old fashioned way in fact, didn't really know what a gay person was, or what he looked like until I was in my late teens really when I was dealing with it with myself, and between that and other issues, because of that I got hooked on steroids and became bulimic with all these issues going on.

 

Sinead:

I mean it got so bad that you thought about taking your own life

 

Nigel:

I did, I did something one night that I will regret for the rest of my life. I left a note for my Mum and Dad and took an overdose and if I hadn't of been found within twenty minutes I was gone. I was airlifted to hospital and thankfully I was in for five or six days and the doctor told me you were lucky if it had of been twenty minutes later we wouldn't have been able to save you and lying in the hospital bed, the only child, and my Mum and dad came into see me and my Mum said if you ever do anything like that again, then you take me and your Dad with you. And I thought to myself 'What the hell have I done here?' And that was the moment when I though 'I need to grow up here'. I need to accept who I am. There's nothing I can do about it. This is who I am, and that's when I accepted. That was the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life was accept who I was, and then came the next challenge then of can i carry on refereeing in the macho world of rugby, what are people going to say, what are my friends, family? You know, what are rugby players going to say? Are they going to say 'Oh I don't want him refereeing', would I be allowed to referee? And then that was the next challenge, but that challenge was nothing compared to the challenge of dealing with yourself, of who you are.

 

Sinead:

And were you really worried they might say we don't want you to ref anymore, that that might be the result of it?

 

Nigel:

Yes, because you're going back now possibly fifteen years ago, sixteen years ago, things were different back then than they are now, and things are better now thankfully. Although you do get some idiots coming out and saying comments which are in the dinosaur age that are not relevant to today's society at all and not relevant to players and people today really. And has no place in society or sports. I don't think these people realise when they say these comments, you know, everyone has their opinion and you're entitled to your opinion and your comments, but to make sure your comments are right in what you're saying and I don’t think people realise how difficult it is for young people in particular dealing with who they are and how difficult they make it when you hear people, you know people who are still respected in sports, saying these comments. How difficult it makes it for people to deal with that then and I was pleasantly surprised when I did come out and I had a lot of messages from players and Barry Williams, the ex Lions and Welsh player and the Ospreys Captain at the time came up to me in the gym the following morning and said 'listen, we've heard, and we respect you and it makes no difference to us what so ever and you have no idea how much that meant. And thankfully everyone's been great since, and I've just been able to carry on with my life, and I don't think anybody should just go out there and shout from the rooftops I'm gay or this is what I am or where I'm from or whatever. All I want is to able to get on with my life the same as everybody else and just be who i am, and that's all. Everybody should have that entitlement in their life. There should be a place for you in society and in sport, no matter what colour your skin, no matter what country or background you're from, whatever your sexuality, there should be a place for you in society and sport in particular.

 

Sinead:

There is most definitely a place for you as one of the greatest referees of all time. And tomorrow night you'll be ref-ing a big match, I know how I want it to turn out. I want Brian to bring it home for one last final hurrah and round of applause to honour him. You can't say who you want to win, but I know you will miss Brian very sorely.

 

Nigel:

It's a privilege to be a part of any rugby game, I know I was refereeing his last game and he played his home international in The Aviva against Italy and it's a privilege to be on that field tomorrow night to referee the final for the both teams and in particular greats like Brian O'Driscoll and as well, one of Leinster's unsung heroes Leo Cullen. They're all great players on that field tomorrow night.

 

Sinead:

Well Nigel I look forward to the match and I look forward to your decisions. And I look forward to the next book. Thank you so much Nigel Owens.

 

 

For further information
Ciara Byrne – Press Officer – 01 419 3329/087 319 9732

Jean O’Donovan – Press & Publicity Assistant – 01 419 3428

Sharon McHugh – Head of Press & Publicity – 087 922 4143

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