Nigel Owens has been appointed to the new position of National Academy Referee Coach by the Welsh Rugby Union.

Wales’ senior referee and one of the top officials in the world, Owens will be able to share the benefits of his considerable rugby experience in a variety of ways with the 2,000 plus officials on the WRU’s register.

He will coach and assess selected referees at regular intervals during the year and offer training advice as well as take practical sessions at the WRU’s National Centre of Excellence.

One of 19 officials on the IRB International Referee panel Owens next takes charge of England’s summer tour fixture with Australia in June and will then oversee the Tri Nations meeting of South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg in August, meaning he is constantly up to date with evolution of the laws of the game.

“Nigel is an official of considerable experience who has risen right to the very top of his profession so it is natural for us to seek to utilise his expertise for the future development of officials in Wales,” said Joe Lydon, WRU head of rugby performance and development.

“He is a high profile figure in the world game and the high regard in which he is held already has a positive effect on recruitment of referees in Wales.

“In his new role he will now be able to have a direct influence on preserving and raising standards and ensure our match officials maximise their potential.”

Owens took his first coaching session with a selected group of 18 officials from junior academy level in Wales yesterday (Sunday) at the WRU’s National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort just outside Cardiff.

“Nigel will be instrumental in the development of the next generation of referees in Wales,” said WRU national referee manager Rob Yeman.

“He is one of the top referees in the world and the vast knowledge he has gained will be utilised to the full in helping our young referees improve their officiating.

“We have over 2,000 referees who are qualified at varying levels with 180 operating in the WRU national leagues. There are five other referees in our representative group of officials, James Jones, Tim Hayes, Gwyn Morris, David Bodilly and Leighton Hodges with hopefully a number of other officials joining the ranks over the coming months. However, we only have Nigel who has made it to the very top at the moment.

“He is an inspiration to the others and already helps his senior colleagues, but this new appointment will mean we can target some key individuals who will become our top officials of the future.”

Owens added: “Refereeing has given me a rewarding and varied career, taken me all over the world and allowed me to be a part of some great rugby matches and great occasions.

“This new role allows me to share some of my experiences as a referee with the future refereeing talent we have here in Wales and I’m very much looking forward to the challenge of helping them develop and am extremely honoured to have been given this opportunity.”