Nigel Owens: The Final Whistle

by Nigel Owens, Dan Carter (Foreword), Paul Abbandanato (Editor)

It's rare for a referee in any sport to be popular, yet Nigel Owens has always courted strong affection throughout the world - loved by players, coaches, officials, TV commentators and even fans.

A real character, some of his famous put-downs whilst lecturing players, such as 'This is Not Soccer', have become huge social media hits.

The best rugby referee of his generation, Nigel also has an incredible back story to tell. After coming through dark times when he tried to take his own life, he was the first leading figure in the macho world of rugby union to come out openly as gay and went on to command respect everywhere for his honesty off the pitch and ability as a referee on it.

This is an inspirational story of triumph over adversity, hope over despair. It all makes for a truly compelling read as the rugby book of the year.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Biography

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 9, 2022

About the author

Nigel Owens is an international rugby union referee. He came out as gay in 2007, and has spoken about his difficulties with his sexuality, his experience of living with bulimia nervosa and attempting suicide. Nigel Owens was awarded a MBE by the Queen of England.

Reviews

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not apparently written with the expectation of a wide audience, enjoyable but could have used another draft | I enjoyed this to the four star level, but I have to be honest that the writing quality is two stars, so an easy balance at three overall. The book is very repetitive, doesn't follow a clear timeline, instead jumping ahead a couple years before going back to reference some skipped event, and is definitely written for people who already know the basic story of most of the events. I think some of the continuous emphasis that none of the viral moments were said with that as the goal could have been edited out. I believed him the first ten times, it didn't need to keep being said. The final chapter feels like a chatty letter to a friend, explaining worries about adoption and exactly where the farm is located (the reader could stop by using just the information provided). Overall I enjoyed spending the time with Owens, but the book really could have been tightened up a lot. I own but haven't yet read his previous memoir, Hanner Amser, I chose to get the original Welsh edition and I have too many books ahead of it on my list right now.

[Deri Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very very good read and a great book.

[Tim Tat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nigel Owens was voor velen de beste scheidsrechter ooit op de velden en zeker degene met de beste uitspraken. Zo is de ondertitel van zijn tweede autobiografie, ‘This is Not Soccer!’ legendarisch. Zijn eerste boek, ‘Half Time’, was een bestseller. Vooral het emotionele verhaal over zijn poging tot zelfmoord omdat hij niet in het reine kon komen met zijn seksualiteit en de openhartigheid waarmee hij erover sprak leverde hem veel waardering op.
In ‘The Last Whistle’ vertelt hij over de ‘tweede helft’ van zijn internationale carrière. Zijn zeven Heineken Cupfinales, zijn honderd testwedstrijden, een record wat waarschijnlijk niet snel gebroken zal worden en natuurlijk het hoogtepunt voor elke scheidsrechter, de finale van het WK. Owens floot de ontmoeting tussen de aartsrivalen Australië en Nieuw-Zeeland in 2015. Het is machtig om te lezen hoe een scheidsrechter zo competitief kan zijn dat hij altijd de finale wil fluiten. Maar Nigels liefde voor het spel blijkt toch uit het feit dat hij een week na de finale in een lagere divisie in Wales zijn opwachting maakte.
Owens vertelt ook heel illustratief hoe scheidsrechters beoordeeld worden, hoe ze elkaar helpen terwijl e ook elkaars concurrenten zijn en hoe de twijfel toeslaat na een slechtere wedstrijd. Net als je denkt, het wordt een beetje saai die ‘wedstrijdverslagen’ komt hij met een mooi verhaal of anekdote over een van de sterren die hij floot of collega scheidsrechter. Hij heeft ook nog een leuke ontmoeting met voormalig Nederlands XV-coach Lyn Jones toen die Rusland leidde bij het WK in Japan.
Natuurlijk komt ook zijn privéleven voorbij waarbij het verlies van zijn moeder hem bijzonder aangrijpt. Ook het ‘uit de kast komen’ is vanzelfsprekend een bijzonder verhaal, zeker in een ruige sport als rugby bijna twintig jaar geleden. Het feit dat een jongetje uit een huurhuis in Mynyddcerrig, een dorp van nog geen driehonderd inwoners in zuidwest Wales zo ver kon komen mag zeker als inspiratiebron voor veel jongere scheidsrechters zijn.
The Last Whistle is niet alleen voor scheidsrechters een absolute aanrader, maar ook voor (top)ruggers die willen weten wat er in het hoofd van de ‘man (of vrouw) in het midden’ omgaat. Dit boek koop je natuurlijk bij je lokale boekhandel, zo steunen we de middenstand.

[Jill Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - which is not a surprise as I also love Nigel Owens. When I first began watching rugby I loved that he explained a bit about what his decisions were and I was able to follow along just a bit better.

I’m not saying this book is a good fit for everyone. There’s a LOT about the rugby matches that he’s reffed through the years. I’ve seen quite a few (50%? 60?) and could picture what had happened as he told the stories.

I follow Nigel and his cattle on instagram so I’m thrilled that he told a bit about his partner and how they came (back) to farming.

As for his personal life and sexuality, I’m sure he helped many people see themselves honestly and learn that they can love themselves. He’s completely comfortable with himself and that comes through in this memoir.

ps - when I’m not in ‘the mood’ my terrible Welsh accent comes out as I burst out with “Hands Away!” ☺️

[Colm Maloney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hoped for more
What an incredible story and half life Nigel has lived and yet the story never really bounced off the page
Half written by a sports journalist, one can see the influence on the book - less Nigel’s story and more an important newspaper in-depth report

What a genuine good bloke
Of course a few times we can see or nearly see what he thought of, some characters aka real people, and some situations like referring errors, and get a glimpse of the incredible drive that must exist inside Nigel.
But we never quite do see it.

But still the snippets are worth reading and I am glad I did
I enjoyed it but
I hoped for more.

[Sophie (RedheadReading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nige always comes across lovely and personable in his writing so he's always an enjoyable read. I also admire the way he's so open about his dark times, from his attempted suicide to his experiences with bulimia.
That said, this feels less focused than Hanner Amser, without as clear a narrative progression so chapters can often meander a bit (moreso at the start, it builds more of a thread as it goes on). It's been a while since I read his first biography, but I can't help but feel that The Final Whistle repeated a fair amount?

[Kalinda Healy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys rugby I was interested in this book and Nigels career as an international professional rugby referee. This book gives a good insight into the world of professional rugby refereing and how those systems work - something I hadn't thought much about before. An easy read. Probably will not interest someone with no interest in rugby.

[Mike Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first section kind of recaps stuff from the first book - important stuff to know but I felt it was in there in case people hadn't read the first autobiography.

After that, there's some reasonably interesting stuff and it's better than a lot of sporting autobiographies that sequentially list events.

Not bad.

[Phil Altimas · Rating 5 out of 5]

a true rugby legend
i loved the book from start to finish
its full of great, moving and funny stories

[Jenna Grewcock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting listen