Wayne Barnes reveals officiating ‘concern’ for British and Irish Lions series and highlights previous clash which angered Rassie Erasmus
British and Irish Lions team in a huddle and former Test referee Wayne Barnes.
Rugby World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes is worried that the officials will not be able to perform at their best during the British and Irish Lions series.
While Lions head coach Andy Farrell has spent the pre-Test games looking to build team spirit and combinations, Barnes believes that the same needed to happen for the match officials.
“I was, and still am, a huge advocate of match officials working regularly together, to ensure nothing is left to chance,” he wrote in his Telegraph column.
“It is why when I walked onto the field for the World Cup final with two English referees on the sideline and an English TMO in the stand, I knew we had prepared for every eventuality.
“We had been there and done that.”
Referees for the Lions series
New Zealander Ben O’Keeffe will take charge of the first Test with Italian Andrea Piardi and Georgian Nika Amashukeli the referees for the next two.
When they are not the man in the middle, those officials will be the assistants, giving them some continuity in the decision-making process.
However, the television match official will be different in every match, something World Rugby did not do in 2017 and 2021. It is a call Barnes is not a fan of, with the ex-Test ref stating: “Consistency fans want, and expect, may not be there.”
The TMO has become a big talking point and the Englishman insists that the relationship between the referee and the video official is vital.
He also expressed doubt about the decision to separate the three referees prior to the series between the Lions and the Wallabies.
“A TMO needs to be clear that their role is not to analyse every possible knock-on, or every potential forward pass, but just to get the big calls right,” he wrote.
“Unless match officials work together regularly, how do they know what is a big decision for one and what is a TMO taking over the match for another?
“And there lies my concern. Before the first Test, Andy Farrell will be making decisions around the best combinations.
“But the four match officials have not all been in Australia honing their team. Ben O’Keeffe and Richard Kelly were officiating Fiji v Scotland in Suva last weekend while Andrea Piardi and Nika Amashukeli refereed the match between the Lions and the Invitational Australia and New Zealand side.”
2022 France v Springboks encounter
Barnes revealed how he was left frustrated by a decision back in 2022 when the officials were named for the France v South Africa clash in the end-of-year series.
There was controversy towards the end of that match, which was highlighted by Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus and led to the referee receiving death threats.
“One of the wildest atmospheres I ever refereed in was in the Velodrome in Marseille in 2022 when France played the world champions, South Africa,” he wrote.
“This was number one versus two in the world, and had been talked up as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup final less than a year later.
“When it was announced I would be refereeing the match, I was obviously delighted, but couldn’t believe that I had been paired with an Irish TMO that I had never worked with before.
“And to cap it off, Tom Foley, the English TMO, who I had worked with for years and who I had built a wonderful rapport with, was in Scotland working as a TMO for an Irish referee.
“It didn’t make sense, and it definitely didn’t set us up with the best chance of success.”
Erasmus also vented his ire on Nic Berry’s refereeing during an infamous hour-long video in the 2021 Lions series and Barnes hopes the referees can avoid a repeat of that type of controversy this time around.
However, the 46-year-old is concerned that the officials may not be allowed to succeed due to their lack of time together before the opening Test.
“The officials will already be working hard to ensure they are aligned and connected come kick-off for the first Test on July 19. But I fear they may not have enough time together to cover all of the possible scenarios that a Lions series could throw up and perform to their best,” he added.
