Wayne Barnes warns World Rugby of ‘dangerous territory’ after ‘breakdown’ switch hinders the attack
All Blacks v England at the breakdown in 2024 and former Test referee Wayne Barnes.
Rugby World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes has revealed that World Rugby have told teams that they will have to ‘suffer with slow ball’ if they try to milk penalties.
The governing body relayed the message to the respective countries ahead of the Autumn Nations Series and the referees have duly refused to reward perceived gamesmanship from the attacking sides.
It has been a theme over the past year or so but, according to Barnes, the officials have taken it up another notch in November, which has left him concerned.
Rewarding the defensive team too much
“Referees were also asked to loosen up on the breakdown. Refereeing bosses believe that officials are being too harsh on the defence and, in particular, tacklers on the wrong side,” he wrote in his Telegraph column.
“Leading into November, World Rugby explained to coaches that if an attacking scrum-half makes a meal of it, or if a tackler is stuck because of an attacker being over him or her, then the attacking team would have to suffer with consequent slow ball. Dangerous territory.
“Referees should continue to be hard with players on the wrong side and reward the defence only when it is really deserved. Twickenham’s atmosphere may be bouncing at the moment, but the energy of a crowd is quickly sapped when a game is littered with defensive penalties.
“The way referees can help to grow the game, and build an atmosphere, is to help generate quick ball. This not only puts defences on the back foot, but it helps to create space across the pitch for teams to attack.”
Barnes is also worried about the “unintended consequences” of World Rugby’s law amendment about ‘escorts’.
The governing body issued a change ahead of November, forcing the defensive team to allow access for the chasers from box-kicks and ‘up and unders’.
It has resulted in much more contests in the air but it has also been met with criticism, especially from England, who feel that it could lead to an increase in scrums, which is at odds with the governing body’s intentions.
“Personally, I hope this tightening up was well thought-through, and not a change due to pressure from one or two international coaches,” Barnes wrote.
“We’ve seen that happen in the past, and the potential, unintended consequences of this shift could undo a lot of the work on the new laws.”
Positives
There have been other law amendments this month, including the shot clock and the 20-minute red cards, both of which have been met by Barnes’ approval.
“Both the reduced time on the clock for kickers and 20-minute red cards were positive changes that came on the back of a conference where players, coaches, match officials and competition owners discussed how they wanted the game to look,” he added.
“The ‘shape of the game conference’ was convened to help grow rugby in an increasingly competitive global sports market.
“The average ball in play time during last year’s Rugby World Cup was 33 minutes. In the England v Australia game, even with 10 tries, it has rocketed to 39 minutes. Green shoots.”
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