"Nightmare" - Wayne Barnes and Nigel Owens name the worst Six Nations players to referee

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DID YOU KNOW? Nigel Owens started refereeing in 1987, after his sports teacher John Beynon suggested he take up refereeing after a poor performance in a school game.

Although Barnes wasn't in the mix during the previous season's Champions Cup final, a clash that witnessed Johnny Sexton exchanging heated words with referee Jaco Peyper and his team post-match, he has not shied away from expressing his robust views on the incident.

In his tell-all autobiography, 'Throwing the Book,' Barnes delves into the details and shares his candid perspective on the dramatic confrontation.

Barnes said: "Further evidence that the authorities don't have referees' backs, and seem to be making stuff up as they go along, was the incident between Johnny Sexton and Jaco Peyper after the 2023 Champions Cup final, which La Rochelle won against Leinster.

"Leinster's Sexton, who didn't play because he was injured, walked on to the pitch and abused Jaco and his touch judges, Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley.

"You could clearly see him letting rip as Jaco was on the podium receiving his medal, and you didn't need to be a lip reader to know that was he was saying wasn't very pleasant, to put it mildly."

Barnes continues: "So when asked, Jaco and his team said they didn't hear anything,

"European Rugby didn't believe them, but Jaco and his team weren't prepared to put their names to any statements because they weren't confident that European Rugby would protect them.

"European Rugby promised them their names wouldn't be mentioned and said it would write a statement on their behalf (you'd be ripped apart in the criminal justice system for doing that), but when the time came to prosecute Sexton, their names and quotes were all over the transcripts of the judgement.

Nigel Owens, commenting on Sexton, said: “I’ll tell you what, they’re probably the best two referees in the world, Dan Biggar and Johnny Sexton, because when you ref them they always think they know more than you!”

OWENS SAID: “Oh god yes. He’s so focused and so passionate about what he’s doing, we’ve had a few run ins on the pitch down the years. I mean, it’s always been in a respectful way as we always have a drink and a laugh after the game.”

DID YOU KNOW? Biggar has his own routine before kicking goals, which fans now call "The Biggarena" after Los Del Rio's 1995 hit, Macarena.

BARNES SAID: “I was always petrified of him because he was coming to the end of his career when I started in the Premiership. 2003 was my first [season] and obviously that was towards the end of his career and I remember I had to sin-bin him once and I actually apologised as I did it. I said ‘I’m very sorry I have to do this’ because he’s such a big personality. I guess he was always someone who scared me witless!”

DID YOU KNOW? Under his management England won the 2011 Six Nations Championship, their first since 2003

OWENS SAID: “Definitely. 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.”

DID YOU KNOW? He is a famously competitive and "outspoken" character, gaining the nickname "The Leicester Lip"

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."

BARNES SAID: "The hardest players are the best players,”