Nigel Owens has been in demand post-World Cup.
The man who officiated the final was on Newstalk's Off The Ball on Friday night to speak about the tournament and rugby in general.
Asked if he felt that a captain can have an influence over a referee, Owens related an anecdote from earlier in his career.
The game was Toulose vs Wasps, Owens' first Heineken Cup match. Captain for Wasps that day was the experienced Lawrence Dallaglio.
He [Dallaglio] came over one ruck in the game and killed the ball on the Toulouse try line. He rolled away and tried to make it looking like a complete accident and I fell for it.
His presence and influence on me as a new and inexperienced referee certainly meant him avoiding a yellow card.
I came off the field at the end game and Derek Bevan who was the TMO and who has coached me aswell and who I owe a lot to. He said 'Not many things happen in rugby by accident. He's got you there. He's used his experience to give you the impression that it was an accident.' Derek Bevan told me 'Never let that happen again'. I learnt from that.
There's no doubt that a good captain can make a difference.
Brian O'Driscoll, jokingly, asked if Owens has ever sought revenge on Dallaglio.
I refereed him in a game a couple of months after. He was the captain still. I went into the changing room and he came over and shook my hand. I said 'Right then Lawrence, what half do you want to go off in today?' In fairness, he just laughed, I just laughed and we moved on.
