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He’s the best referee in world rugby, but Nigel Owens is staying true to his roots in the week he takes charge of this season’s European Rugby Champions Cup final.

Owens is the man in the middle for the titanic all-French clash between Toulon and Clermont Auvergne at Twickenham on Saturday, adding to the Welsh influence on the clash with Leigh Halfpenny turning out for the defending champions and Jonathan Davies in the Clermont XV.

But Owens refereed the Dewar Shield final - Wales' under-15s schools showpiece - at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday and will end the week by taking charge of a special memorial match between Kidwelly and Ferryside on Sunday.

It means it will be a hectic week at all levels for a man who is used to taking charge of the biggest games. But Owens insists that come Sunday evening, he'll have treated each of the three clashes in the same way.

“I think I’ve refereed more games this week than I did the whole of last year,” joked Owens.

“I did the Dewar Shield game between Pontypool and the Rhondda on Wednesday and what a game it was. The kids behaved well on the field and were polite off it.

"The two captains did a little talk, thanking the referee and these boys are just 14.

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“I had to go out and referee that game just like I will have to on Saturday. I had to go out there and do my best.

“It took some refereeing because for those 30 players in the Dewar Shield, that was their European Cup final.”

Owens, who will be in charge of his fourth European final this weekend, added: “The preparation was slightly different but I didn’t treat that game any differently to the way I will on Saturday.

“And on Sunday I’m doing a memorial game for Jonathan Evans who sadly died in a farm accident earlier this year.

“I’ll either come back straight after the match on Saturday night or early Sunday morning as I promised I would referee the game.”

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The stand-out referee in northern hemisphere rugby, Owens was an obvious choice to take charge of this weekend’s final in London.

It will be the latest high profile encounter for a man who has been in the middle of some of the most memorable international clashes in recent times.

And Owens has no doubts this weekend’s final will be comparable to a full-on international tussle.

“I’m looking forward to it – I’ve never refereed a final with two French sides in it before,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody can argue on Saturday that the two best sides in the competition aren’t in the final. God knows what type of game it will be but it will be a massive clash.

“Hopefully it will be a great occasion. This game on Saturday will be of Test match intensity, there’s no doubt about that.

“If Toulon win, it’ll be the first time any team has won it three years on the bounce and if Clermont win, it’ll be their first time.

“Whatever happens on Saturday, there’ll be history made.”

Clermont and Toulon’s meeting in London is a re-run of the 2013 final in Dublin and regardless of the result, one of either Halfpenny or Davies is guaranteed to become only the tenth Welshman to lift Europe’s premier club competition.

It means there’ll be Welsh success of sorts with either one of Wales’ star backs in line for silverware.

“It’s nice to have Welshmen involved with one on each side and a guy in the middle as well, I guess,” Owens added.

“It’s a shame we don’t have a Welsh region in the final but hopefully in the next couple of years we’ll get one of them there.

“For now we’ll have to make do with one on each side and the referee.”

So what chance of the three Welshman involved in the blood and thunder of a final having time for a quick joke?

Well, it’s not totally off the cards, apparently.

“I spoke to Leigh after the semi-final and I didn’t know then that I was doing the final,” Owens said.

“He asked if I was doing it and I said I’d find out in the week.

“He said 'I’ll see you at Twickenham' and I said 'I hope so'.

“And I get on quite well with Jon. He said 'I’ll have a chat with you on Saturday' and I said 'make sure it’s not too much chat!'

“I’m sure there’ll be times in the game where we can have a quick word but what it will be about, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Halfpenny and Davies have enjoyed stellar success in the red of Wales, but both have spoken about their huge desire to translate that to club level.

The pair will be part of two all-star XV’s at Twickenham with the respective sides packed full of internationals

“Leigh is one of the best full-backs in the world and I remember Jon Davies starting down at the Scarlets,” Owens said.

“They are two great players at the top of their games.

“But more importantly than that, they are two great people.

“If any two Welshmen deserve to be in the final then it’s certainly them.

“I wish them all the best and may the best team win.”