Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens said he feels the same buzz that he did while officiating in his first test nearly 18 years ago, as he prepares for a record-extending 100th game in charge when France host Italy in the Autumn Nations Cup on Saturday.
Owens is the longest serving member of World Rugby's elite international panel, notably taking charge of the 2015 World Cup final between the victorious All Blacks and the Wallabies as well as several European Champions Cup finals.
The 49-year-old cut his teeth in international rugby on the Sevens circuit in 2002 before taking charge of his first 15-man test a year later. He broke Jonathan Kaplan's record of 70 matches in June 2016.
"I still love the game as much as I've ever done, I still get as excited as when I did my first test. The buzz is still there, I'm still enjoying it and loving every minute of it," Owens told World Rugby's Between the Lines podcast.
"Hopefully I'm still performing to the high standards World Rugby expect of me and the high standards I set for myself."
Owens said he is looking forward to his big moment in Paris.
"When you referee, you don't think about milestones... but (it is) something you become aware of and something you become proud of," he added.
"It's similar now with this 100... it's something special, something you can look back at."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
