Wayne Barnes

[longlivethecrumbie]

happy retirement Mr Barnes.

Luke Pearce now the undisputed best ref in England?

Controversial I know, but Dickson had a decent World Cup

When not on the field (tongue in cheek)

[No6_Flanker]

happy retirement Mr Barnes.

Luke Pearce now the undisputed best ref in England?

Controversial I know, but Dickson had a decent World Cup

I was really impressed by Tom Foley as a TMO, he made quick decisions and helped the game to progress without long delays. Should be the standard for all TMOs going forward.

[longlivethecrumbie]

happy retirement Mr Barnes.

Luke Pearce now the undisputed best ref in England?

Controversial I know, but Dickson had a decent World Cup

I was really impressed by Tom Foley as a TMO, he made quick decisions and helped the game to progress without long delays. Should be the standard for all TMOs going forward.

I wonder if he's stepped down from getting wet to sit in the truck permanently?

[Pellsey]

happy retirement Mr Barnes.

Luke Pearce now the undisputed best ref in England?

Controversial I know, but Dickson had a decent World Cup

I was really impressed by Tom Foley as a TMO, he made quick decisions and helped the game to progress without long delays. Should be the standard for all TMOs going forward.

I completely agree with all three points. Good news for English referreeing!

Although I believe that all referees, the same as with players, should be able to be evaluated by all (as they are essentially paid as part of a publically viewed game), personal abuse is completely unacceptable and should be completely stamped out.

I wish possibly the best sir in the last 10 - 15 years in the world all the very best for the future.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Rugby is worse off without Wayne & Nigel in charge of the whistle.

[mightymouse]

Barnsey has been the best ref in the world for years .. and his retirement is a big loss to the premiership. Sadly he didn’t seem to come to Welford Road much in recent times.
Anyway I have to say what an excellent ref he became and always seems like a very decent bloke too .. and it’s very rare for me to say that about a referee.

[Tigerbeat]

Good interview
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/67349016

[CJ]

Long interview with him on Radio 5 this morning. 7.15 if you want to listen on iplayer / catch up. He came over very well, as we would expect.

[mol2]

The only other I would rate near to his level is the Georgian ref.

[trendylfj]

Sent this to Wayne last week and got the following reply - we are really going to miss his skills even when we disagree with his opinion.

Dear Wayne,

You do not know me, but I am a passionate rugby supporter of Leicester Tigers. I have been to many of the matches you have officiated and whilst not always agreeing with your decisions, have always respected the way you made them. As I said on the Leicester Tigers Fans Forum (Trendylfj) today, the level of abuse officials and their families are receiving these days is totally unacceptable and World Rugby needs to track the culprits and get them banned from our game for life.

I thought you refereed to the recent final really well. Communicating your decisions clearly to the captains and players on both sides without any favour which is exactly how it should be done. You have served our game superbly well throughout your career and have owned up to any errors you have honestly made in the course of the games which is exactly how it should be.

My one disappointment recently was your lack of appointments to referee a game at Welford Road over the last 2 seasons and I do hope that when you do find time to come there, the fans are given the opportunity to say thank you. If you want to come and have a beer in the Crumbie lounge before any game, it would be my pleasure to buy it for you.

Enjoy your retirement and once again thank you.

Jack Hartley

Hi Jack

Apologies for the delay in replying, a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks and finally catching up with messages But thanks for the message it is appreciated.

Last Saturday was a wonderful night and a game for the history books. Having my wife and the kids there (and the kids joining me on the pitch after the match) will be something that sticks in the memory for years to come.

It definitely feels the right time to retire and people say you'll know, when you know! Very much looking forward to getting weekends back and spending some more time at home.

Thanks again.

Wayne

I do hope that he does come to WR again and I have the opportunity to buy him the promised pint.

[mightymouse]

I’m sure there’ll several happy to buy him a pint wherever he goes (maybe not NZ just yet!) including me.. he probably won’t have to buy a pint for a while. The fact that he replied shows the kind of guy he is.
I wouldn’t be making the offer of a pint to Dickson any time soon!

[mol2]

The daft thing is the final decision to send the player off in the final wasn’t Barnes, so why he got the abuse shows the ignorance of the abuser.

[Rugbygramps]

He has been such a big part of rugby and the premiership over the last decade or so, it would be nice, with his agreement, if a tour of the remaining premiership grounds could be made for fans to express their appreciation of this fantastic official

[Rugbygramps]

The daft thing is the final decision to send the player off in the final wasn’t Barnes, so why he got the abuse shows the ignorance of the abuser.

I read a comment from I think Steve Hansen saying the TMO should be banned. It wasn’t even his decision it was sent to the review hub

[Tigerbeat]

The daft thing is the final decision to send the player off in the final wasn’t Barnes, so why he got the abuse shows the ignorance of the abuser.

I read a comment from I think Steve Hansen saying the TMO should be banned. It wasn’t even his decision it was sent to the review hub

Think it was the TMO that pointed out the head clashes...........no TMO and it would not even have been an issue.