Rugby: Kieran Read surprises former rival Ken Owens with good wishes after reaching milestone

By RugbyPass

Despite the pair being at the center of a refereeing controversy that resulted in a tied series in the British and Irish Lions’ 2017 tour to New Zealand, Kieran Read has put aside his frustrations to convey good wishes to the hooker from Wales Ken Owens.

With one victory each entering the final game of the tour, the All Blacks and Lions were looking for a victory that would confirm their position as series champions.

In the final minutes of the game, with the scores tied at 15 overall, Owens was blown offside after playing the ball off a Lions knock-on.

Referee Romain Poite quickly changed his mind and reversed the decision, however, he considered Owens’s play to be accidental. New Zealand captain Read, in his 100th test, protested with Poite, but the Frenchman refused to award a full penalty and called for a scrum.

The All Blacks soon threw the ball on the back play and it was called full time, ending the game and series in a famous draw.

Read was in an unusually nasty mood after the game and Owens revealed on the House of Rugby podcast earlier this year that the All Blacks captain did not speak to the prostitute when visiting the New Zealand exchange shed.

“I went to the New Zealand locker room afterwards to congratulate Kieran Read on his 100th game and he didn’t really speak to me,” Owens said.

“In fairness, he apologized after the tiebreaker for third place in the [2019] World cup. Obviously, there were intense emotions at the time. “

With the series now wet under the bridge, Read has done for Owens what Owens tried to do for him after that third Lions tryout and congratulated the hooker on achieving an impressive milestone over the weekend.

In Saturday’s game between the Scarlets and Dragons, Owens scored his 250th match for his beloved Scarlets team. Owens’ club reached out to professional rugby players from around the world to applaud the 33-year-old for his impressive achievement, and Read was one of those players Scarlets reached out to.

Read was frank in his praise.

“From this side of the world, I would like to congratulate you on your 250 games for the Scarlets,” Read said. “It is a great achievement; I cannot think of many other players around the world who can achieve that for their club.

“So congratulations, friend, and enjoy it.”

Scarlets emerged with 41-20 winners in the Welsh derby and still has a shot at making the PRO14 playoffs, provided Connacht scores an unlikely win over Munster in tomorrow’s match.

This story was originally posted on Rugbypass and has been republished here with permission.