Nigel Owens, MBE (born 18 June 1971) is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career.

[5] On 16 February 2003, Owens had his first 15-a-side international appointment, refereeing the second-tier match Portugal v Georgia during the 2003–04 European Nations Cup First Division.

Owens was appointed to his first play-off/knock-out rugby match on 23 April 2006, when he refereed the 2005–06 European Challenge Cup semi-final between Newcastle Falcons and London Irish.

On 11 September 2007, Owens made his Rugby World Cup debut in the match between Argentina and Georgia in Lyon, France.

[15] Owens was on the 12-man referee panel for the 2015 Rugby World Cup where he was appointed to three pool stage matches, including the France v Ireland clash at the Millennium Stadium, which was the first time Owens refereed an international match at the Welsh home stadium.

[19] On 5 March 2016, Owens launched the 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying process, refereeing the first qualification match, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v Jamaica in Arnos Vale.

[20] Later that year, Owens became the most-capped rugby referee when he took charge of the Fiji-Tonga clash in Suva, overtaking Jonathan Kaplan's record of 70 tests.

[21] On 15 April 2017, Owens made his 150th Pro12 appearance when he took charge of the Judgement Day clash between Newport Gwent Dragons and Scarlets.

In it, he opened up about his own experiences with bulimia and how it has affected his life, highlighting his refereeing of the Rugby World Cup as a significant trigger.

[31] In February 2017, Owens was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs,[32] during which he discussed his sexuality with presenter Kirsty Young.

[35] Owens appears in the mid-morning BBC Radio 5 Live programme by Scott Mills and Chris Stark.

[37] Shortly after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Owens was named 'Gay Sports Personality of the Year' at gay rights group Stonewall's awards ceremony in London.

[39] Owens was subjected to racist and anti-gay abuse when refereeing England and New Zealand in November 2014, according to a letter in The Guardian.

In Dublin, for the launch of Europe's largest LGBT+ inclusive rugby tournament, Owens was speaking about his own experiences and the difficulty of coming out as gay while working in sport.

[45][46] In the 2016 Birthday Honours, Owens was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to sport,[47] and was awarded an honorary fellowship from Cardiff University in July of the same year.

In October 2019, Jones-Davies joined Owens in Tokyo to support him during the Rugby World Cup[50] and married 10 August 2024.