Wayne Barnes

[Vamos los azules]

Hows about Nigel Owens for Saturday - dont think he is down to ref......

He is going to decide who wins the championship - he is doing the England-France match according to the match officials list on Planet Rugby.

[simonokeeffe]

playing the ref is now almost a skill In the game in the same way playing with say the elements is.

Ireland and Leinster under Joe have always been very good at reading refs and adjusting to the on field decisions, as shown by the usual low penalty count and lack of sin bins you pick up.

Barnes clearly was very hot on you at not rolling away at the breakdown and it is something you adjusted to at half time but not before it had cost you 12 points.

You looked to be the dominant side in the scrum and I'm surprised you didn't get more penalty's in that area of the game (especially the last scrum of the game which seemed a blatant penalty to Ireland), if say Poite was reffing you would have got a lot more joy in that area.

I'm not saying Barnes got everything right (in fact I think he got a lot wrong) but I'm sure he would not as that youtube clip suggests have cheated Ireland, comments like that do nothing for our game and neither do the wales vs Ireland slanging matches that are evident in the comments to that video.


I have to say this forum and your coach have handled the defeat in a very dignified manner, I'm not so sure you'd get that on a forum like Gwlad

not like we were flawless in that game
also not like Wales missed many if any tackles

[Xanthippe]

Hows about Nigel Owens for Saturday - dont think he is down to ref......

He is going to decide who wins the championship - he is doing the England-France match according to the match officials list on Planet Rugby.

Don't know when that changed because there was no announcement on it - Steve Walsh was supposed to be doing that game.

[Donny B.]

Wales were the far better team on Saturday and completely deserved their win.

But please don't tell me that Wayne Barnes is a good ref or even an honest ref, he's shown repeatedly that he isn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEuXfew ... e=youtu.be

A lovely summary of the cheat that he is

[Twist]

That video is pretty damning. Referees will make mistakes in every game, but his instructions were so specific when giving penalties against us, and then so totally abandoned later.... And the scrums were just ridiculous

[Tricky Dicky]

Cheat is the wrong word, because what has Barnes to gain from deliberately getting it wrong? Plus, whoever made that video doesn't seem to know that you're allowed to go off your feet if you're cleaning someone out. The video is pretty damning though. 5 or 6 joke calls went against Ireland in that game

[FLIP]

He's either a cheat, or utterly incompetent. Which other referee has left a trail of utterly bad, game changing decisions behind him? France vs NZ, the Bradley Davis red card that never was, the Pape red card that never was despite the act taking place right in front of him, most things that video highlights.

I'd lean more on the side of incompetent if this affected a wide range of teams, but on the face of it it doesn't.

Rolland makes one correct but controversial call and gets hounded out of the game. Barnes ruins tournaments and yet is still kept in the job.

[offshorerules]

Are we suggesting that Dylan Hartley was right? Surely not.

[Logorrhea]

The more I reflect, the more I have to commend the Welsh on that defensive effort. That was some commitment and its rare that a team can put in a performance like that. However, even with that effort, we were within an inch of the result going our way. Hence the focus on the ref and the volume of incorrect or inconsistent (that is actually the big issue for me) decisions that turned the result away from us. That has to be an issue for the governing body.

his instructions were so specific when giving penalties against us, and then so totally abandoned later.... And the scrums were just ridiculous

Pretty much sums it up for everyone. The man is not a cheat of course, that's pure emotions talking, but he impacted the result of a championship game. That cant happen.

[fourthirtythree]

Are we suggesting that Dylan Hartley was right? Surely not.

I always said I had great sympathy for Hartley on that one.

[offshorerules]

Are we suggesting that Dylan Hartley was right? Surely not.

I always said I had great sympathy for Hartley on that one.

Me too. The point I was making was that there were an awful lot of posters on here saying that he should be banned for a very long time as he was accused, wrongly in my opinion, of calling Barnes a cheat. There now appears to be a lot of posters calling Barnes a cheat. By their own standards surely they deserve long bans? Thankfully this is not Shelbyville but you get the point.

[JB1973]

A captain calling the ref an "effing cheat" during the game is totally wrong and it doesn't matter if it was Hartley or Alun Wyn Jones saying it I would still say the same.

Hartley was rightly banned and there can be no excuse or defence for that sort of behaviour on a rugby field.

why would Barnes go out to cheat Northampton? unless people think he took a bung or he is a closet Leicester fan, why would he risk his career and reputation to influence the Aviva final manner in such a way?


The word cheat seems to be creeping into the game more and more when it comes to refs.

Rolland got blasted for "cheating" Wales in the world cup semi when there was clearly a foul committed

We have had lam more or less accusing hodges of it the other day and MOC accused the ref of costing you guys the Scarlets game.

We constantly hear chants of cheat cheat cheat at welsh grounds if decisions go against the home team (especially Rodney parade and parc y scarlets)

I have no issue with people calling refs inept or out of their depth, but cheat is something else and I really don't think refs go our to cheat anyone.

[offshorerules]

You are of course quite correct. To clarify I don't think he intended to call Barnes a f%~king cheat. I think it was directed at the opposition front row. Hence I thought people calling for a long ban were being unduly influenced in their opinion on the matter by Harley's previous behaviour. Perhaps Barnes is suffering something similar now?

[simonokeeffe]

If we are wailing on Barnes we need to also wail on the touch judge especially the one that called the penalty at the end
officiating is not all on Barnes

[domhnallj]

You are of course quite correct. To clarify I don't think he intended to call Barnes a f%~king cheat. I think it was directed at the opposition front row. Hence I thought people calling for a long ban were being unduly influenced in their opinion on the matter by Harley's previous behaviour. Perhaps Barnes is suffering something similar now?

My recollection of the event was that it was hard to say who he was accusing - I'd accept that he was directing himself to his opponents since there is a fair chance they were cheating (probably as much as he was) - buts thats the nature of the front row or so I believe. I don't believe that Mr. Barnes is a cheat - being clueless about refing the scrum possibly, but not cheating.

[simonokeeffe]

You are of course quite correct. To clarify I don't think he intended to call Barnes a f%~king cheat. I think it was directed at the opposition front row. Hence I thought people calling for a long ban were being unduly influenced in their opinion on the matter by Harley's previous behaviour. Perhaps Barnes is suffering something similar now?

My recollection of the event was that it was hard to say who he was accusing - I'd accept that he was directing himself to his opponents since there is a fair chance they were cheating (probably as much as he was) - buts thats the nature of the front row or so I believe. I don't believe that Mr. Barnes is a cheat - being clueless about refing the scrum possibly, but not cheating.

Hartley had already gotten a severe and clear warning from Barnes in that match over how he was talking to him before the incident

[domhnallj]

Hartley had already gotten a severe and clear warning from Barnes in that match over how he was talking to him before the incident

Yes I remmeber that - but the problem is trying to figure out who he was shouting at to get himelf sent off unless he was warned in general about his behaviour?

[Logorrhea]

The word cheat seems to be creeping into the game more and more when it comes to refs.

To be honest I've not heard it in a stadium in Ireland yet. Reading it here on the internet but that's hardly surprising, regardless of how incorrect it is.

I've heard Irish fans boo a ref on occasion when we feel he has wronged the team (correctly or incorrectly). Munster fans and Leinster fans have both given Poite some booing, but I've never heard an Irish crowd shout cheat. I could be wrong but I don't think it would be accepted.

Edit: On the Barnes vs Hartley call, I thought that while he couldn't really be sure it was aimed at him, Barnes was within his right given the previous warning to send Hartley off. He clearly warned Hartley that he believed his talk was aimed at him (Barnes). Thought it was the right call at the time, but brought about by his incompetence as a ref. I couldn't imagine any other ref having to do it.

[olaf the fat]

All Refs have an impact on the game. The best ones leave very few footprints.

Wayne likes to have an impact, and blows that whistle like he is in a 90s rave. He has ruined his fair share of games.

Thankfully last Saturdays game will be remembered for the great game of rugby it was and not the ref.
Saying that, I do think another yellow card was due with the penalty try, and a penalty at the last scrum (and nearly all the others) should have gone the other way.
But well done Wales - great game.

[Peg Leg]

90's rave..... Brilliant