I’m not a diehard follower of darts by any means. I take an interest, particularly when Jonny Clayton, who is one of my best friends, is playing, and I have fond memories of watching the likes of Jocky Wilson and Eric Bristow on the BBC growing up, so I do watch it and enjoy it.

But while all the focus was on Luke Littler winning the World Championship last week, there was someone else standing on that stage in the final who is certainly worth celebrating.

I was not aware of referee Huw Ware or his story until I read an article about him earlier this week. Huw is not only a proud Welshman and someone at the top of this game, but also a history-maker, having become the first openly gay man to officiate a World Darts Championship final.

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Flatteringly, he mentioned in an interview that I had been an inspiration to him when I refereed the World Cup final back in 2015.

Hearing Huw say that really meant a lot to me. He said to himself, if Nigel can do it, then I can also get to the top of my sport as a referee, and that’s what it’s all about really

I’ve had people come up to me in public quite a few times and say that I’ve inspired them and helped them or their son or daughter through a difficult time, whether that’s to do with their sexuality or their mental health.

Of course, I don’t speak out on those issues because I want people to come up and do that, I do it because I want to inspire others and help those who may find themselves in the same darkness that I did.

If I had been able to relate to somebody who was at the top of their game when I was struggling to come to terms with who I was, it would have helped me immensely and probably would have prevented me going through those dark, dark days.

In my own experience, when I was refereeing professionally, there was nobody out. No players, no referees, so I could not just tread my toe in the water and see what it was like. There was nobody for me to look up to or take encouragement from that I could do it too.

It was very difficult in those early years, dealing with that and not knowing whether rugby would accept me because of my sexuality. I really didn't know if I would be able to carry on refereeing in the macho world of rugby if my sexuality became public knowledge.

But obviously, when I came out, my refereeing just improved because I was able to be myself. After I came out, three or four years later, Gareth Thomas did too, as did Sam Stanley the England Sevens player and referee Craig Maxwell-Keys.

When somebody at the top of their game comes out, it does help other people to realise they can reach those heights too, whether it’s in the same sport or not. Huw said he took inspiration from me and now he will be inspiring not only people in darts but in other sports and areas of society as well.

In a sport that, like rugby, has quite a macho image, I can imagine that he has probably been through some difficult times too.

But the truth is, whether you’re a man, woman, gay or straight, if you have the ability then you deserve the same opportunity as anybody else. It’s brilliant that we have trailblazers in rugby refereeing like Joy Neville and Holly Davidson, who is one of the top referees in the URC. It’s not about ticking boxes because of diversity, equality and inclusion, it’s because they are the best people for the job.

That was very important for me when I was appointed to referee the 2015 World Cup final. I was chosen because I was deemed the best referee in the world at that time by the people in charge. I wasn’t picked because of my sexuality or anything like that, I was picked because I was at the top of my game.

It’s about being able to be yourself in the environment you’re in, it shouldn’t be about ticking boxes - that’s the last thing it should be about.

When I started refereeing many years ago, Derek Bevan told me something that has stuck with me all this time - a happy referee is a good referee. The same goes for all walks of life - imagine you had to live a lie of who you are in order to carry on with your job? There’s no way you could enjoy it, because you can’t be your authentic self.

To be your best self, you have to be comfortable in your own skin. If you can’t be authentically who you are, in sport or in work or in everyday life, there’s no way you can enjoy what you’re doing and there’s no way you can be the best that you can be.

Tom Daley springs to mind as another example of this - he was able to embrace exactly who he was and he went on to win Olympic gold. I’m sure Huw feels that being open about his sexuality and who he is has helped him perform better in his job too.

Of course, with stories like Huw’s, you still have people asking ‘why is this news?’. Let me tell you, it’s news because you only have to read some of the homophobic comments on social media regarding the likes of Huw and myself to know that it is still very much an issue today and one that we still need to talk about.

It’s not because we want preferential treatment or anything like that. It’s about raising awareness because there’s still a lot of work to do. Even though a lot of good things are already being done and the majority of people will respect you and not really care (in the nicest way), there are still some dinosaurs out there. Social media in particular can be a horrible place at the moment.

That’s why we need to continue to raise awareness and talk about the successes of those in the LGBTQ+ community, to inspire and help others who may be going through those very, very difficult times. Ensuring that you can be yourself and you get treated the same as everyone else could inspire the next great referee in darts, rugby or any other sport.

If people want to use my story, then I will continue to share it. We have come a long way in society but the reality is people are still homophobic and there are still so many people out there, including our sons and daughters, who are afraid to be themselves.

I’m really happy that I helped to inspire Huw, and I have no doubt his achievements will continue to inspire countless others.