World Cup final referee Nigel Owens should never referee again, says former Australia international

Rod Kafer made the comments during the Wallabies' 37-10 defeat to the All Blacks

Owens refereed the 2015 World Cup final (Getty Images)

Welsh referee Nigel Owens should never referee another game of rugby, according to former Australian centre Rod Kafer.

The Wallabies were less than impressed when Owens, who was officiating Australia’s Bledisloe Cup test against New Zealand at Eden Park, disallowed winger Henry Speight’s try at a crucial moment.

The score would have left the scoreline level at 15-15 with a conversion still to come but Owens ruled it out for obstruction after discussing the incident with TMO Shaun Veldsman.

The pair decided that Wallabies winger Dan Heylett-Petty had illegally obstructed All Blacks winger Julian Savea as he chased Speight down and consequently ruled the try out.

The decision enraged 12-time capped Kafer, who was on commentary duties with Fox Sports, leading him to claim Owens, the 2015 World Cup final referee, had been swayed by the Auckland crowd into reviewing the decision.

"This is ridiculous, the crowd's been at the referee and Nigel Owens has now asked for a TMO ruling on a player who's going to be behind the ball and is never, ever in a position to affect the ball," Kafer said in commentary.

"He's been done by the crowd here, Nigel Owens.

"That's shoulder to shoulder, he's behind the ball, there's no such thing as an obstruction.

"Nigel Owens should never referee a Test match again, that is disgraceful. He's behind the ball, he can run where he likes.

"It was a crucial decision that absolutely changed the course of this Test match."

The decision was also derided by former international referee Jonathan Kaplan, who hold the record for officiating the most international matches.

He wrote on Twitter: “That is an absurd decision!! Poor Australia. How can this happen at that level? The ref is complicit and accountable.”