Barnes takes the big heat

ONE name seemed to be missing from the roll of honour for the 2017 Six Nations, that of Wayne Barnes. His handling of The Longest Match in Paris ought to serve as an object lesson to budding referees the world over in how to cope with recurring emergency.

A second viewing of the staggering 20 minutes’ stoppage time confirmed the first, that the 37-year-old barrister from the Forest of Dean got it absolutely right. Just as no referee can have had as much thrown at him than between the 80th and 100th minutes of France-Wales, so none could have made a better job of it.

He asked the right questions over the highly suspicious changing of one France tighthead for another and over George North’s allegation that he had been bitten on the bicep. A lesser referee would have cracked under the strain of attending to all that while wrestling with mighty decisions about penalty tries and yellow cards.

Barnes went about his duty without even the faintest overt trace of being the least bit flustered. Yes, he ought to have shown Wales more than one yellow card but that ought not to detract from the professionalism behind a job thoroughly well done.