“He needs to change” – Nigel Owens ranks the five WORST England stars to referee

Nigel Owens was an international referee for 17 years and during that time encountered some challenging England players as he names the five which he never enjoyed officiating.

Here is what the former top referee told The Daily Mail and a Q&A fo Wales Online about the five worst England players he had to deal with in his career.

Owens said: "He was always a funny one on the field in nice way. You'd be trying to tell him something serious and he'd just want to have a laugh and a joke. He'd wink at you on the middle of a serious telling off."

OWENS SAID: "Itoje is someone who plays right on the edge. That is what makes him such a great player.

"He must be so difficult to play against but he’s also difficult to referee and I mean that with the utmost respect. 

"Itoje plays with passion and on the line. It is difficult to tell Itoje not to bring the same confrontation and aggression to the game that he usually does. It would take away from his game.

"You don’t want him to change the way he plays but he needs to pick and choose when he gambles on the situation and when he doesn’t.

"And understand better those moments when you are under pressure and knowing when, if you take a risk and get it wrong, you will land your team in real trouble."

OWENS SAID: "A player who pushed himself, but also sometimes the referee, to their limit due to his intensity. A really nice guy away from the field."

DID YOU KNOW? He has won three Six Nations Championship titles with England and one English Premiership title with Harlequins

#2. Owen Farrell

Owens said: “I had a couple of conversations with him on his tackle technique when he was England captain,” recalled the now-retired referee.

“I told him that if he was going in high and he gets it wrong, he would be in trouble.

“And, also, when the shoulder hits, your arm should be there wrapping in that split-second, simultaneously. You can’t have your arm down below as an afterthought.

"I had that conversation with him. If that’s his tackling technique, he needs to change or address that. He’s not the only one, of course. But, otherwise, you’ll end up with a red card but also you have got to think of the other player’s safety.

“I don’t know whether him driving up through the tackle is a rugby league influence – there are a lot of rugby league coaches in the game now. But if you get that technique wrong, you’ll be in trouble.”

Owens said: “Definitely Healey. I only caught him towards the end of his career, thankfully.

"A wonderfully talented player and a very good pundit now, but he always had plenty say and quickly assumed I didn’t like him.

"He’s actually blocked me on Twitter, but I don’t think I’m the only one.”