The world’s most experienced and respected match official, Owens is due to become the first referee to control 100 test matches next month after being given two games in the Autumn Nations Cup.
The final at Bristol’s Ashton Gate will be his 115th Heineken Champions Cup fixture in a European career that dates all the way back to a Challenge Cup game between London Irish and Piacenza on 21 January, 2001.
His first game in what was then the Heineken Cup also involved an Italian team, when Leicester Tigers beat Amatori & Calvisano 63-0 at Welford Road on 19 October, 2002. His first Heineken Cup final came on home soil at the Millennium Stadium when Munster beat Toulouse to win the title for the first time in 2008.
That came a year after he took charge the first of his two Challenge Cup finals, when ASM Clermont Auvergne beat Bath at the Twickenham Stoop. That made it a hat-trick of finals in 2009 with Leinster’s first triumph in the Heineken Cup over Leicester Tigers at Murrayfield.
He was then handed the 2013 Challenge Cup final between Leinster and Stade Francais Paris and the Heineken Champions Cup finals of 2015 (RC Toulon v ASM Clermont Auvergne), 2016 ( Saracens v Racing 92) and 2017 (Saracens v ASM Clermont Auvergne).
“There will be a new name on the cup at the end of the game and who knows, it could be the start of a new dynasty in the tournament after the recent domination of Leinster, Toulon and Saracens,” said Owens.
“It could well be my final European game in charge, so it might be the end of an era for me. I’ve loved being involved in the competition and it has provided me with so many great moments over the past 20 years.
“I’ll never forget the noise and passion generated at the Millennium Stadium in my first Heineken Cup final in 2008, or being in charge when there were 82,00 Irish fans at Croke Park for the semi-final between Leinster and Munster the following year. It was a sea of red and blue and it was a game that was definitely as intense as any Test match.
“Then there was the infamous ‘bloodgate’ match at The Stoop, when Leinster beat Harlequins, and I’ll never forget the incredible display by Brian O’Driscoll for Leinster at Bath in 2006. He was simply unplayable.
“Even though there won’t be any fans at Ashton Gate to enjoy the spectacle, I think the tournament has now regained its lustre after a few tricky years. I will miss being a part of it when I retire, although I won’t miss some of the travel difficulties that have inevitably cropped up over the seasons.”
Owens will have Scotland’s Mike Adamson and fellow countryman Craig Evans as his assistants in Bristol, while another Welshman, Ian Davies, has been appointed as TMO.
After extending his record in the Heineken Champions Cup final, Owens will then turn his attention to the international scene in the Autumn Nations Cup. Seventeen years after making his international debut, he will become the first official to referee 100 test matches when France host Italy on 28 November.
Having cut his teeth on the Sevens circuit in 2002, his first international 15-a-side appointment was a year later when Portugal took on Georgia. As well as his 100th Test in Paris, he will also be in charge of the game between England and Georgia on 14 November.
“When you referee, you don’t really think about milestones. When I overtook Jonathan Kaplan to become the most capped referee it wasn’t something I was chasing,” said Owens.
“But it is nevertheless something you become aware of and something you become very proud of. It will be the same thing with getting to 100 caps.”
Cardiff-born Andrew Brace will take charge of the European Challenge Cup final between RC Toulon and Bristol Bears Toulon in Aix-en-Provence on Friday, 16 October, as he continues to build his reputation on the back of controlling the Guinness PRO14 final last month between Leinster and Ulster.
A former Cardiff Blues community officer, Brace grew up in the Welsh capital before heading to Ireland to study. He played for Old Crescent and used the Belgian link of one of his grandparents to play internationally as a scrum half for that nation before injury halted his playing career.
Voted the Munster referee of the Year title in 2014, he made his Challenge Cup debut in 2015. He was offered a professional referring contract with the Irish Rugby Union in 2017 and took charge of his first international match in the same year when he was the man int he middle for the World Cup qualifier between the USA and Canada.
He went to Japan last year as a touch judge and is due to referee Wales’ Six Nations clash with Scotland at Parc Y Scarlets at the end of this month. He made his Six Nations bow earlier in the year when France hosted Italy at Stade de France.
