Owens, who followed in the footsteps of Derek Bevan by refereeing a World Cup final at Twickenham Stadium when he took charge of the game between New Zealand and Australia, is heading to the Caribbean to control the first match in the RWC 2019 cycle when St Vincent and the Grenadines host Jamaica in Kingstown.
His 69th international outing comes a few weeks after he was in charge of the rain-soaked SSE Swalec Championship top-of-the-table battle between Merthyr and Swansea at The Wern that ended in a 3-0 home win.
Owens follows in the footsteps of South African Craig Joubert, who refereed the RWC 2011 final and then went on to take charge of the first qualifier for 2015 between Mexico and Jamaica in Mexico City.
“It’s honour to be appointed to this important match and I will prepare in the same way as I always do. Indeed, every time I take the field as a referee it is an honour and even more so when it’s a test match,” said Owens.
“Reffing the Rugby World Cup final was a wonderful experience and one that I will treasure forever, but every match is memorable in its own way and I am really looking forward to this next challenge. For the players in this match it will be a chance to represent their country on the international stage and be part of the Rugby World Cup process.
“So from my point of view, it is important that I prepare well and perform to the best of my ability. Hopefully, if I do that it will be a good game that allows the players’ talents and hard work to shine through.”
While the opening ceremony is still three-and-a-half years away, the RWC 2019 begins in earnest this month. In total, the competition now features more than 90 nations and the qualifying process will comprise around 200 matches.
More than 3,000 players across six continents, including the developing rugby markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as USA and Mexico, will be involved in the qualifying stages. A dozen teams, including Wales, secured their place at Japan 2019 courtesy of finishing in the top three of their respective pools earlier this season.
The remaining eight places will be determined by a process of regional and cross-regional qualifiers and, for the first time, a stand-alone round-robin repechage tournament to determine the final qualifier in 2018. All qualified teams will be known by November 2018.
“It is fitting that Nigel should referee this match as it creates a sense of continuity and shows how important even the first qualifier is in the entire process. In many ways, Rugby World Cup is not just a tournament of 20 teams but in fact it is designed to include all 103 full member unions,” said World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset.
