When the take no prisoners World Rugby Cup match kicks off tomorrow morning the All Blacks and the Wallabies will be refereed by a gay man. Gay World Cup final referee Nigel Owens Welshman Nigel Owens, 45, one of the highest-ranked rugby union referees in the world, came out in 2007, saying: "It's such a big taboo to be gay in my line of work, I had to think very hard about it because I didn't want to jeopardise my career. Coming out was very difficult and I tried to live with who I really was for years. I knew I was 'different' from my late teens, but I was just living a lie." Owens has occasionally been homophobically abused but continues to espouse gay rights and welfare causes. He notoriously once said to a European player who made a very crooked throw into a lineout: "I'm straighter than that one!"
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 31st October 2015 - 9:04pm