So Dear World Rugby, Wayne Barnes is the best referee you have to offer? I hope you witness this South Africa vs France game where your best referee absolutely choked in the last 15 minutes. I’ve never seen a ref be so affected by crowd noise as Wayne Barnes was last night, it’s incredible that a referee with over a 100 caps, could not handle France playing against the Springboks, the moment was too big for him and he choked. He started off well and just got worse and worse as the game went along.
Let’s start with the good, the two red cards, I don’t think anyone can argue with them, he dealt with it correctly and it didn’t take long for and the tmo to get to their decisions, so I can compliment him for that. But that is where it ends. There were 2 other incidents that simply went unnoticed thanks to poor refereeing, and disgraceful acts from the TV director who simply cut out all important angles when it was required. The first instance was an South African Lineout, where Franco Mostert goes up for the ball, then he gets kicked in the Face by a French jumper, after he gets kicked, he gets a knee to his head and the ref and AR just ignores it. They then show the replay, which cuts out as it shows the slow motion of Franco getting kicked in the face, that is great TV from the broadcaster. Then the other one was Cheslin Kolbe running with the ball, stepping inside and getting a shoulder right into his face from a French player, the play never gets spotted. The tmo never sees it, then the replay again cuts out before they show the illegal hit, that is just disgraceful. Again, He got Pieter Steph Du Toit’s and Antoine Dupont’s red cards spot on, but simply ignored all the other instances.
Then there is the sealing off penalty against Eben at the start of the game. This was a soft penalty and I point this out as important, because Wayne Barnes simply ignores France doing it the whole game after that. So if he is going to penalize South Africa for it, why does he ignore it the entire game after that penalty? Why? Not to mention Wayne Barnes continuing to let play go on after Jonathan Danty took the shot to the head by Pieter Steph du Toit. Danty is laying there motionless on the ground after that hit, and Barnes just continues to let play go on, even after the play is literally running into Danty. What about Player Safety?
Then there is the Deon Fourie Yellow card, prior to that SA gets a lineout 5m from the French line. The French concede 2 penalties in a row by collapsing the maul, the 2nd one being cynical as the maul is going forward toward the line before it is collapsed. Siya asks ref about warning, but Wayne Barnes says no, it’s only been 2 penalties in that region so far. Then SA goes to touch again. France comes in from the side, and shoves early, they illegaly stop the maul, but the ref misses everything and they stop the maul. Luckily the Springboks scored in that sequence, but France got no card despite multiple infringements 5m from the line. Fast forward now to the Deon Fourie incident. First off the lineout is clear obstruction. The Jumper loses his bind to the ariving player as he transfers the ball, which means the ball should come out immediately or it’s obstruction, instead the ref misses it. The maul forward and Deon Fourie eventually collapses it. This was the first penalty by SA in their 22m region in a very long time, they got no warning as well. But Wayne Barnes gives Deon a yellow card without hesitation. So where the hell is the consistency?
Then there is the try. In what world was that a legal try? The French player is literally elbow down, head down on the ground when he is short the first time. He then goes again but is stopped by de Allende, he then even goes for a 3rd time when he crawls to score the “Try”, and Wayne Barnes gives the try, even though it was the clearest of clear double movements you will ever see. The TMO also confirmed the try which makes no sense at all.
Honestly I can say so much more, but just watch the video, it’s hard to explain. The stuff that happens in the last 20 minutes is absolutely ridiculous. How many more games are going to be affected by officiating before refs are held accountable? Here was an example of World Rugby’s best referee, and he choked in the biggest moment. Will he be punished? Will he face the consequences? Or will the Northern Hemisphere fans make excuses for him? How many screw ups do you need to see, to see how bad officiating has become? When will you wake up to it? Stop believing World Rugby, their review system is complete BS and everyone knows it, except the Northern Hemisphere fans. Rassie Erasmus did the right thing when he exposed World Rugby, they can’t hide anymore. They should face the truth.
The “Officiating” Team”
TMO: Brian MacNeice
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley