Nigel Owens weighs in on Ellis Genge’s headbutt incident amid ‘clear double standards’ accusations
Ellis Genge's headbutt on Alex Mann and an inset of Nigel Owens.
Former international referee Nigel Owens has reacted to Ellis Genge’s controversial actions against Wales in round one of the Six Nations.
During the first half of the clash at the Allianz Stadium, the England prop squared up with Alex Mann and bumped heads with the Welshman.
The incident was identified by the TMO who duly prompted referee Pierre Brousset who deemed that it only warranted a penalty. George Ford was lining up a shot at goal but the French official’s ruling meant that Wales were awarded a penalty instead.
Brousset deemed Genge’s actions to be a ‘push’ instead of a headbutt but many onlookers disagreed and likened it to Jasper Wiese’s actions during the July internationals last year, with ex-Springboks prop Keith Andrews claiming that there are ‘clear double standards’ at play.
Mike Brown-Yoann Huget comparison
Owens has now weighed in on the debate on World Rugby’s Whistle Watch show with ex-Wales and Lions centre Jamie Roberts.
“Was it a headbutt? We saw them come together, we often see players squaring up. But he actually makes head-to-head contact. Ref’s given a penalty. Should it have been more?” Roberts asked.
“I had a similar incident with France and England, Le Crunch game out in Paris, 12 years ago maybe a bit more,” Owens replied.
“Mike Brown and Yoann Huget both put their foreheads together. So there was no sort of headbutt, but they did something similar to Ellis Genge, where they moved forward, but both of them did it.
“I called them over, and I said to both of them that they were acting very immature.
“Mike Brown sort of realised and went off. Huget was going, ‘What does that mean?’ But still went. So that’s the way I dealt with it.
“Now, in this instance here, there are a couple of things to ask. Is this something we want to see in the game? And I think even the most ardent England fan would say no, we don’t want to see this in the game.”
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Nigel Owens’ verdict on Ellis Genge’s headbutt
While the former official says that he doesn’t want actions like Genge’s in the game, he doesn’t believe that it warranted a sending-off. Unlike Andrews, he doesn’t believe that it was a headbutt.
“Do we have a headbutt? No, we don’t,” Owens continued.
“Because what you have is two players squaring up and Ellis Genge sort of pushes his head forward. So you don’t have that headbutt.
“He pushes his head forward. So for me that’s that’s not a headbutt. So for me this is not a this is not a red card.
“So the referee has an option for how to deal with it. You will either deal with both players and tell them, ‘Hey boys, that’s not the way you behave on the field and get on with it’. But then, the only one who’s instigated the contact is Ellis Genge, it would be unfair then to sort of share that blame even though he may have sort of done something to provoke it. We don’t know.
F1 Wiese for @Springboks – Red card followed by a ban (Was it 8 weeks kanene?)
F2 Genge for @EnglandRugby – Penalty only@WorldRugby? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/afONDQESRy— Blues Ntlane Valisi (@bluesvalisi) February 8, 2026
“You then identify you’re not supposed to do that, and it’s a penalty. And I would say if you’re identifying that that putting a head into somebody’s face is an act of our play, then personally I probably would have followed it up with a yellow card, and that’s the general consensus, not a red card. It’s not a headbutt.
“A yellow card would have been sufficient punishment for it because we don’t want to see it.”
The citing commissioner agreed with Owens as Genge did not face any post-match sanction for his actions and has been selected in England’s starting line-up for their round two fixture against Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
While the Welshman is confident that the correct decision was reached, fellow former international referee Owen Doyle completely disagreed, describing it as a ‘near-criminal assault’.
READ MORE: Ex-Irish ref boss ‘bewildered’ as Ellis Genge escapes sanction for ‘near-criminal assault’
