Should Wayne Barnes be sent to the Sin Bin?

Question

Wayne Barnes oversaw what can only be described as the worst refereeing display in the history of the Rugby World Cup. As the youngest ever referee in the finals, his inexperience showed when he sent off Luke McCalister and then missed the blatant forward pass by the French, resultng in a crucial try against the All Blacks.

Answer 1

Do not blame the referee, blame yourself... As a French fan, I recognize that the ABs are the best team in the world... But... But, they did not deserve to win on Saturday... Several of their forward passes have gone unnoticed, they had plenty of time to score a drop at the very end... Argentinians or the English would have done it and won... Bad plays, bad decisions, forgot to play for the game, forgot to play with their strengths (pick & roll, my god ! That is for Argentinians...)... Some fans must now become adults and realize what mistakes were made, look at themselves and not at the referee....

Answer 2

ABSOLUTELY - If players get sent to the review board and coaches get sacked, refs need a disciplinary procedure as well.  This is costly to NZ, rugby, fans, and integrity of the sport.  PADDY O'BRIEN doesn't know if he's Arthur or Marthur, spending too much time in the stone age of the UK using innuendos to tell us to grow up, and blatantly lying to protect who?  A scrawny no balls northern hemisphere ref.  SORT IT OUT IRB.  We have roots in our boots Paddy, don't come back to NZ.

Answer 3

Sorry for my english, i'm french and hope you will understand what i mean...

i love All Blacks, the best game in the world, very pleasant to watch, but at this time, this is not the best team in the world, sorry...and i think that all the critics against mr Barnes are not helping this team and its image.

To not admit that Mac allister diserved a yellow card is like...having **** in the eyes !!! A penalty try would have been a good decision too !!!

Moreover, he is one of the referee who had the courage to penalize Mac caw, who his a great player, and a wonderful cheat, as every rugbyplayer knows !!

he haven't seen the forward between Traille and Michalak, that's OK, but he's not the first one in this kind of "action" (?), right or wrong ?

The great defense and tactic of the french team, and the irresponsability of the NZ players (do you know what a droapgoal is ?) are the main causes of this results, that's all !!!

Be fair-play and prepare YOUR world cup in 4 years.

Answer 4

Wow, can't believe that so many of you NZ's actually think the ref conned you out of the game...very very very sad. Boohoo, I can't handle defeat.

As has been said previously, you need to update your understanding of the rules, and when it comes to forward passes, there are quite a few of them that go unnoticed every single match.

Im sure WB will be disappointed he missed the forward pass, but he didnt lose you the game, your team thought they would walk this world cup and once again they didnt have the togetherness and killer instinct to win a tight match.

Losers must learn to channel their frustration into positive action. I very much doubt your team is at home cursing the ref, they'll be assessing their individual and team errors that cost them a berth in the semi finals of the 2007 World Cup. Grow up children, you don't sound much like rugby fans to me!

Answer 5

Wayne Barnes should never ever referee again in his lifetime! More than likely this Englishman was paid off to ensure a majority Northern Hemisphere final.

Sending off Luke McAlister like that was a shocker!!! From where I sat it looked like the frenchman had smacked into Luke from behind on his right-side just as Luke turned to run the other way oblivious to what was coming at him. Now tell me, does the man have eyes in the back of his head to see a frog coming?!!!! Of course not!

Wayne Barnes however calls that obstruction of play.

The lines-men had a part to play for their despicable performance after the numerous times the French players were off-side without being called up and that forward pass was just the icing on the cake.

I'm not letting the AB's off that lightly either; what on earth was the strategy behind the ruck and run into another ruck and run in the closing minutes. Wasn't there a plan B after it was obviously apparent that plan A wasn't working?!!!!

Like **** AB's, what gives?!!

I'm really annoyed as the AB's should have and could have won and they didn't.

I'm over it!

Answer 6

I think he wasnt really experienced enough and I think that the AB's played more friendly than the French

Answer 7

It was a shocking performance by the ref. I wouldn't be surprised if he was bribed (but he probably wasn't).

For all those saying this is impossible... the ref before the NZ vs SA final in 1995 was bribed. He was given a gold watch before the match. The man who gave him the watch and the ref himself admitted it. The ref did give the gold watch back though and the person who gave it to him said it was the biggest mistake he has ever made.

I'm not saying Barnes WAS bribed, but something smells funny and it is not unbelievable .

Despite this the sinbinning did look unfair on replay.... but the ref has to call it as he sees it. It was considered a professional foul in a try scoring position, McAlister didn't seem too bitter when it happened.... maybe it was intentional.

The forward pass was shocking but forward passes are quite often missed in rugby. It was just unlucky.

Players who win these big matches will often tell you that the game seemed to be pre-determined from the moment they stepped onto the field. Maybe it was just fate. It was supposed to happen.

No amount of complaining can change the result. Lets move on and not make a bad name for ourselves to the rest of the world.

We are not all bitter and arrogant.... we just really  really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really hate losing rugby games.

Answer 8

WAYNE BARNES, refereeing was disgraceful and it clearly cost the All Blacks the game end of story!!!!!!!!!!!!! i watch alot of rugby and the refereeing is almost never that disgraceful yet alone in the biggest match short of the world cup final. He should'nt have given up his day job. I hope he is feeling like a complete fool!!!!!!

Answer 9

He should be banished from the game completely. The IRB have a lot to answer for...who in their right mind would appoint an inexperienced ref of seven test matches to a quarter final of that magnitude? It's inexplicable that he should send McAlister to the bin, and fail to notice that "blatant" forward pass. One can't imagine that the French were such saints that they didn't infringe at all in the second half. I had to laugh during the first half when Barnes said he wasn't sure on what had happened when he ruled to set a scrum. His understanding of the game didn't change there after either.

Answer 10

I am a South African rugby supporter and I am writing this letter after just having watched South Africa beat Fiji 37-20. I am at once elated that South Africa won but also fuming over the poor refereeing both from the ref and the two linesmen that could have just as easily cost SA the game.

Yesterday I really felt for the All Blacks because they lost a match not to just poor refereeing but blatant one eyed bias.

Today I am not so sorry for the AB’s. Their fellow countrymen Honis and Walsh stood idly by while Fiji viciously high tackled, made forward passes and constantly played offside right in front of their noses and hardly a word was said (unless of course they noticed minor infractions from SA players and only then did they waddle onto the field to make their prejudice clear for the world to see).  The referee Allan Lewis soon joined this tryst of the blind and even tried to legitimize gross partiality towards Fiji under the guise of  a being a honest broker.  Even Wayne “Barrister” Barnes would have had trouble in defending Lewis before an impartial jury. Yes we know the British invented the game but the patent rights have long since expired and so a bit of fair play would be appreciated.

South African players in the Super 14 and Tri nations are and have been at the receiving end of NZ referee partiality (Honis, Walsh et al.) for years.  

So, AB’s stop whining! You have got your comeuppance. (Your refs are probably the best in the world as well? - Right!) Anyway SA knows how you guys are feeling right now – shame hey! (Good SA saying expressing empathy). We might feel as you do now after the semi final but I think the momentum is with SA!

At least SA supporters can legitimately voice their opinions about the refereeing in this game because SA in fact won the match and so it’s not a case of sour grapes (or sour food!). If we had lost these words would no doubt fall on doubting ears and be relegated to the archives of the Antipodean Referees School for the Deaf and Blind.

Bottom line though, the IRB has to sort out poor refereeing one way or the other as it is spoiling the game. Please IRB listen to a voice in the wilderness.

Well done Bokke and remember “cowboys don’t cry”, SA is proud of you all

Answer 11

Wayne Barnes referreing was as bad as a dope cheat in the Olympics as were the touch judges. They were all working against the All Blacks. Just like the IRB who change the rules all the time to give their teams an advantage.

Answer 12

Yep - he pretty much butchered it!!! And I hope never to see him controlling another international game. I think the IRB needs to have a good look at their referee selection policies as he clearly did not have the skills to control such a crucial match!!!

Rugby definately suffered at the hands of that game/referee

Answer 13

While some can say that the referee didn't cost the All Blacks the game, the stats clearly show they should have won. Winning 6 of the French's lineouts, 72% possession, 36 tackles to France's 172, a scrum that should have been given the feed on at least one occasion for 90 degree s******g. It goes on and on.

A referee with one year's experience should not be officiating a game of the level that was going to be undertaken in Cardiff. There has to be more experience and understanding that even incident of the higest calibre need to more closely examined than was his sin binning of McAlister. Turning your back on a player is not impeding. Its much like a player shielding a ball and thus not allowing the opposition to get easier access to it. It can be frustrating but referees need to know that sometimes things can look worse than they are.

Finally games between two top nations are sometimes going to be tight knit affairs. In these types of games the referees must be of the highest calibre not just because the occasion calls for it but simply because when the margin is so close it magnifies the mistakes ten fold than a blowout.

While NZ can cop some of the blame for losing, one shouldn't forget it was made all the more difficult with a difficult referee. One cannot forget that the best refs are the ones we don't even notice in a game. Barnes will live in infamy but for all the wrong reasons.

Answer 14

As the all the SH teams say to the NH team supporters............GET OVER IT! it is done

Answer 15

yes definitely, he should of stuck to being a barrister

Answer 16

In a game between (according to IRB World Rankings on the day) the worlds number 1 side and the worlds number 2 side, at Rugby's Premier tournament, perhaps we could have expected the worlds #1 referee.

Instead we what we got was the IRBs most junior appointment.

Possibly this stemmed from the IRBs precalculation that France would top their pool and England would be eliminated by Australia.

This is just another in the list of IRB management failings along with the spectacle of the World's most iconic rugby team playing twice in the reserve strip, the hosts playing away from home, and a team who have already been humilated 36-0 and failed to score a try in 160 minutes of rugby progressing to the semi-finals.

Many fan sites are accusing the AB supporters of being poor losers and focussing on the forward pass issue.

There is no doubt that the pass was obviously forward, and do doubt that the sin-bin was a poor decision, there were no fewer than 5 All Blacks competiting to touch down the very average kick through - not a "try scoring situation".

It is true that these kinds of decisions get made in high pressure games - we only have to think back to Mills' disallowed try in the early stages of the 2003 semi-final.

However for me it is not one or two specific decisions (or lack thereof) but Mr Barnes utter failure to referee the French.

The All Black scrum totally demolished France.

France had just 23% of possession.

France made 130+ tackles.

Yet not a single decision in favour of NZ in the second half, and just two penalties against France in the entire game? Give me a break.

Either we witnessed the most accurate defensive performance in world rugby history, or something was badly wrong with Mr Barne's whistle.

Paddy O'Briens comment that he agreed the pass was forward and the sin-bin was harsh, but didn't believe it altered the outcome of the game is just plain bizarre.  He is directly responsible for installing such a junior referee to such an important match. It is Mr O'Brien who needs to grow up.

I believe that after the fiasco of the Jamie Noon disallowed try againt the ABs at Twickenham last year, Mr O'Brien commented he "would not attempt to defend the indefensible".  I think the same attitude may be required now.

Paddy, you messed up. It is unacceptable. Don't try to defend it.

I think both you, and you're junior referee deserve a ten minute stand down to think about what you've done.

Answer 17

Wayne Barnes was not equip to ref  this game,the IRB and Paddy O'Brien should make the appropriate public apology.

I am a proud Springbok supporter and do not believe the Web Ellis Cup will be deservedly won. The worlds best side (for the last 36 months) was cheated out of the tournament....thanks Wayne Barnes.

The 2007 world cup champions will always consider themselves lucky as they did not beat the worlds top side in the final. Fact.

Answer 18

New Zealand for years have dominated rugby through their not only their superior skill levels but also their ability to play on the edge of the rules.

McCallister knew exactly what he was doing and it was a brave decision and the right decision by Barnes to send him off.

New Zealand invented "lazy running", crossing, blocking and developed the momentum so called "flat" pass from Rugby League. (It took us a long while to catch up!)

The obvious forward pass that led to their ultimate downfall does have a touch of irony.

Never mind, kiwi friends, you know we know, that the All Blacks have been, are and always will be the team tthat sets the benchmark for excellence on God's earth.

As Clive Woodward once said "You never beat the All Blacks....sometimes you just score a few more points than them."

Tim

Answer 19

Obviously the forward pass and sin-binning were major turning points for the game but one thing that is overlooked is the drop goal we attempted in the last ten minutes.

In every game i have ever watched, when a team gets a penalty and the team actually wants the shot at goal but the ref plays advantage, then they try a drop goal. That way, if it goes over they get the 3 points but if it misses the ref ALWAYS goes back for the advantage.

I find it strange for the first time ever that Wayne Barnes thanks that a missed drop goal is to the All Blacks advantage and ruled "advantage over".

Now our best two kickers were off the field but at least we deserved the chance to have a kick for the 3 points instead of wondering what the h**l he was thinking.

I still can't believe how bad this ref was. We may not have played to our best but its better to be knocked out by a better team that a dodgy ref. I feel sorry for the players in that game.

Wayne Barnes, hang your head in shame and apologise publically for your total incompetence. You may not owe it to the fans, but you owe it to the players.

Answer 20

France played a big game defensively and did well to step up for the occasion. However, I thought NZ played well enough to win the game. The statistics back this up. Unfortunately some poor refereeing decisions have turned what should have been a tight win into a tight loss.

The Luke Mcalister decision was a poor one. He was only pulling out of the tackle and more importantly the man he hit was never going to recover the ball. The forward pass resulted from a good tackle and play should have broken down. How Barnes and his linesman missed it we will never know. Perhaps they were impeded. The Mcalister yellow card and the forward pass(es) try aside, poor Wayne was naive on a number of other occasions during the game.

To play such a junior referee in such a big game was an obvious mistake and Paddy O'Brien will need to think very carefully about his appointments in the future. I would have killed for a South African referee on Saturday night. They are the best and should be doing the big games in this tournament. Unfortunately they seem to be consigned to the sidelines.

This tournament was different to previous ones. New Zealand sent a great team. In previous years there have been holes but these guys were really good across the park. They still could have pulled it out of the bag on the night. I was screaming drop goal non-stop for the last 10min of the game and I think that was a big tactical oversight by the team.

All things aside there are two things that can be said. The first is that a refereeing decisions has affected the result of an important game and nobody really wants to see that. Second, to win a world cup as well as a good team you need to have a certain amount of luck on you side. The All Blacks seem to be devoid of this. Time for us all to go back to church and seek some kind of appropriate intervention.

Answer 21

Worst World Cup reffing I've seen. From the start of the tournament his reffing has been subpar. He has no feel for the pace of the game, and watching the matches he refs feels like watching an American Football game: start, stop, start, stop. More whistle blowing than Michael Moore. And then, when the most crucial time for a whistle comes (2 forward passes in a single run to the try line), he's on holiday.

As a Boks supporter, this outcome probably makes our road easier, but it's a disgrace. Yes, the All Blacks should have played better, but that in no way excuses the one-sided, incompetent refereeing.

Answer 22

He made some dodgy decisions.  That's it.  Not the first time a ref has done this, and certainly not the last.  Did we find a moral indignation from the Kiwis when Brian Lima tried to take out Andre Pretorius and nobody saw it?  No.  How about when some of the non-Kiwi players got ridiculous citings earlier on in the tournament?  No.  So it's not fallable refs that the Kiwis are complaining about, it's losing partially as a result of one.  If you want objectivity, have a careful look through that game again, and you might find there are a few calls that are harsh on France.  But do you express moral indignation about this?  I thought not.

The simple truth is that the Kiwis were beaten.  And that could never ever happen as a result of the opposition team being better could it?  Surely not.  it must have been a dodgy ref / bribes / food poisoning / insert your excuse here.

The ref wasn't great.  Was he biased?  Probably not.  I did a statistical analysis, using all the Super 10/12/14 matches I could find, to look for some sort of indication of bias.  Unsurprisingly there appears to be no meaningful basis for such contentions.  

And re: the 95 ref, the one who was presented with a gold watch was Derek Bevan.  Louis Luyt presented it in an open (if somewhat tasteless) gesture.  Ed Morisson was the one who reffed the final.  Not Derek Bevan.

Wayne barnes didn't have a good game, but he's hardly the first.  Get over it, and stop believing you have some sort of divine right to the trophy.  You have to win high pressure knockout games for that despite the ref's off day, and this clearly doesn't appear to be a Kiwi strength.

Answer 23

Yep the all blacks always play rugby to the letter of the law..and he didn't miss anything  illigal or clever they did (and that they would never dream of attempting) all match..

Answer 24

Barnes should be put out to pasture for a couple of more years, 25y's old, to young to handle a match of this calibre.

Touch Judge maybe but ref, h**l no.

Answer 25

There's no denying the fact that the ABs let the game get away from them, but when the Referees make amateur decisions that have a marked bearing on the game, one has to wonder at the inadequacy of the referering standards.

Bok supporters I hope your boys do the business and good luck, hope you get a better Ref than we do!

Answer 26

No doubt, the IRB thought he did an excellent job. In a board dominated by officials from the most boring rugby playing countries in the world nothing would surprise me. One seriously has to wonder whether God has turned his back on the Land of The Long white Cloud.

Answer 27

i really dont know why everyone is saying he clearly lost NZ the game.............ok, he didnt have the best game but he let it flow and didnt blow the h**l out of the whistle like other northern hemisphere refs..................sin binning, it was a professional foul, he just hit him 5 metres from their line and he didnt come close to having the ball in his hands.......and the forward pass, please.......NZ had another 10 minutes to make up a 2 point gap, so any form of score and they would have won....they had a passage of 26 phases on the french line........they lost it for themselves........they got themselves to blame and nobody else.....did u notice that NZ coaches etc didnt say a word about the ref, and knew he wasnt to blame?

blaming the ref is just a way of escaping that fact u were beaten.....to the guy who rattled of the facts saying how its the refs fault coz of possession, defence etc etc........well if u have 72 percent possesion then its up to u to do sumthing with it, the ref didnt stop u

Answer 28

Wayne Barnes should be punished for his poor performance. If the team and coaches are to be punished for the results they achieve so should the referees. Referees are an important part of the game, for such an important tournament and a crucial match it was hugely disappointing that the result of the match is tarnished by Barnes inept decisions. He should be thought a lesson and made an example as his performance effected 4 years of preparations and sacrifices of not only the team but also the fans. It is also not helped by Barnes being English (England were the opponent of the winner of this game), but it has to be said that the head of referee is Paddy O Brien, a New Zealender. The French not only manage to beat the All Blacks but they manage to strip the Black jersey (the French jersey....gimme a break ...since when did it become so dark) and influence the referee(remember Laporte's outburst ealrier this year?) ....well done Blues...well done Barnes

Answer 29

the idiot should not even be allowed to ref a kindergarten game nevermind officiating at the highest level.

it is pathetic that he is allowed to determine the fate of a team that has proved beyond doubt that they are the world's best.

is it because he had a choice of deciding who will be the opponent least likely to f-up his countrymen in the semi? thats the way i view it anyway.  

he should be redcarded and banned from rugby altogether .

Answer 30

McCalister blatantly obstructed in the "red zone" and as such the yellow card was the correct decision. The forward pass was missed by Barnes but there are plenty of missed decisions to look at in every rugby match. Barnes also missed a number of instances when the All Blacks flew in over the top at the breakdown to either slow the opposition ball or the ensure there was no turnover. Nothing is being made of this - just like nothing should be made of the forward pass. The bottom line is New Zealand should not have had to rely on a decision that late in the gameby the ref in order to progress into the semi finals

Answer 31

Of course he should be sent to the sin bin! what refereeing school did he go too? all silly little calls, missed calls and not keeping up with the game??????????

yes! all blacks could have played better with little errors here and there but c'mon, that last try given to the french was way forward and everytime its been shown just makes me wanna break down.

As a fellow all black fan, wayne should go back to training wheels and not ever ref again........im sure he was better at being a lawyer than he was a "ref".

Im sorry but im dissapointed and will never forget who put us out of the world cup!