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'Immense': New Zealand Rugby pay tribute to newly retired referee Wayne Barnes
By Josh Raisey
New Zealand Rugby have paid tribute to Wayne Barnes after the referee announced his retirement this week just days after officiating the Rugby World Cup final.
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The 44-year-old oversaw his first ever World Cup final on Saturday as South Africa overcame the All Blacks 12-11 at the Stade de France, and had to brandish a yellow card on four occasions during the match, with All Blacks captain Sam Cane’s card being upgraded to a red by the bunker in the first-half.
In the wake of final, Barnes has been subjected to online abuse including death threats, which became an all too common theme during the World Cup with England’s Tom Curry and South Africa’s Cobus Reinach also experiencing the same treatment during the tournament. In his statement announcing his retirement, he said that he will strive to prevent this happening to other referees in the future.
He said: “I will work closely with the International Rugby Match Officials’ association to ensure match officials across the globe not only have a collective voice but also the appropriate support network for them and their families, particularly as online abuse and threats have become far too regular for all of those involved in the game.”
Despite losing in the final, it was all class from New Zealand on social media, as they paid tribute to the 111-Test referee, saying his contribution to the game has been “immense”.
“Congratulations to Wayne Barnes,” NZR wrote on X. “Who has called time on his refereeing career. With a record-breaking 111 Test matches in the middle, Wayne’s contribution to the world game has been immense. We wish him and his family all the best for the future.”
This post from New Zealand was followed by the hashtag #RespectTheRef, which is important given everything that has expired this past week.
Congratulations to Wayne Barnes, who has called time on his refereeing career. With a record-breaking 111 Test matches in the middle, Wayne’s contribution to the world game has been immense. We wish him and his family all the best for the future. #RespectTheRef 🏉 pic.twitter.com/Ws7oBAbIdK
— New Zealand Rugby (@NZRugby) November 2, 2023
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Latest Comments
The weather was dreadful but the playing surface was great so there is no real excuse for such another poor standard of play from both sides. Dragons just the better team. But, what a shocking decision by the TMO not to award the Fifita try. This pretty much sums up Welsh rugby with poor teams and poor officials. The WRU have a lot of work to do and it needs to be done quickly to avoid rugby being lost to our future generations.
Go to commentsNo chance of Borthwick selecting any young talent. He announced his selection policy from the outset with naming a poor OF as Captain, retaining an equally poor Youngs and Vunipola brothers when there were many better EQP in the Premiership. SB revival of Leicester was based on SA muscle and a terrific Welsh flanker he has generally ignored young English talent.
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