Nigel Owens is not a fan of pick and jam moves to eat up the clock.
The Welsh referee pinged Ireland’s Jack McGrath for it, against New Zealand, in November 2013 and sparked two minutes of all-out attack that led to a heart-breaking injury time try for Ryan Crotty.
On Sunday, in Saracens’ last minute snatch of their Champions Cup quarter final, Owens was penalising negative play again.
Racing Métro were picking and jamming in the 79th minute but their players were going off their feet to seal off rucks. Owens issued two warnings before blowing his whistle for a penalty that Sarries’ Marcelo Bosch knocked over for the 12-11 win.
In their Rugby Tonight analysis, Brian O’Driscoll offers teams wishing to run down the clock some useful advice to placate a referee like Owens. That 22-20 loss to the All Blacks, he says, was ‘one of the worst feelings I have had in sport’.
