England legend reveals telling ‘turn a blind eye’ Wayne Barnes comment after ‘whistle happy’ refs hamper Wallabies and All Blacks Tests

Rugby referees need to “turn a blind eye” to certain infringements if they are to keep the game flowing after Saturday’s stop-start Tests.

That is according to 2023 Rugby World Cup final official Wayne Barnes, who was watching the England v Wallabies match alongside Red Rose legend Will Greenwood on Saturday.

Nika Amashukeli had a fine game but there was some criticism with both that clash and the one at Soldier Field – Ireland v All Blacks – in regards to the nature of the refereeing.

Greenwood was speaking on Sport Nation’s Scotty and Izzy show when he revealed the fascinating chat he had with Barnes during the Twickenham encounter.

Greenwood-Barnes discussion

“I watched the game with New Zealand’s favourite ref (Barnes), and I think all the games, including yours (Ireland-New Zealand), was a bit whistle happy,” the ex-England centre said.

“Some of these young refs now, they’re getting there. He said: ‘They’ve got to learn to turn a blind eye on occasion’. I said: ‘What?’ But he said: ‘You have to, there are so many infringements going on at every ruck, you’ve got to get out of the way and play’.

“I thought at the weekend both of those games were just, ‘here comes another whistle’.

“We’ve now got so many good assistant referees and a fourth official, there is so much noise in the referee’s ear.

“I can’t imagine how often he will be getting told something – there’s an infringement here, there’s an infringement there – and he can’t be seen to be ignoring them, especially when the TMO comes in and says you’ve got to be looking at this. It’s difficult for them.”

Despite admitting there needs to be an improvement, Greenwood has warned against venturing into conspiracy theories about the refereeing community.

“The danger of going after these people is sometimes there’s an assumption that there’s an evil community, there’s an evil union of referees that want to destroy and make games crap,” he said.

“The reality is, watching it with Barnsey and knowing a lot of the refs, they’re all trying their best to stay out of it and create safety, space and speed – they’re the three main things they’re going after.

“Just go after those core principles, deliver on them and we’ll stay off your back.”

England great ‘amazed’ by top refs reaction to ‘gamesmanship’ solution after Joe Schmidt accusation

Greenwood retired from playing in 2006 but he is still involved in the game as a pundit, while he also helps out at his local junior club, joking that the quality of refereeing at that level will make observers appreciate the top officials.

‘I have to bite my lip’

“The reality is I run around at a junior rugby club, it’s level five, and you guys should be grateful for the quality of refereeing you get,” he quipped.

“If you want a problem with referees, come and play in the fifth tier of English rugby and then have a whinge about reffing!

“You will not get me throwing them [under the bus]. I have to bite my lip. They see me after the game, and I’ve watched them have an absolute calamitous game where they’ve lost complete control.

“They come over proud as punch and ask for a selfie and say: ‘What do you think?’ I have a stock answer now, I say: ‘Do you want the honest truth or do you want to go away happy?’

“If they say they want to go away happy, I tell them they were great, if they want the honest truth and they are there with their assessor, then [I will give it].”

READ MORE: All Blacks great slams Tadhg Beirne’s ‘absolute joke’ red card and issues warning to World Rugby