Barnes regrets THAT mistake
Wayne Barnes doesn’t regret a lot about his rugby refereeing career.
But missing that forward pass in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal is one of the things he wished he did get right.
The English referee missed a crucial forward pass in the leadup to France’s try in their 20-18 win over the All Blacks in Cardiff.
Despite New Zealand’s inability to kick a drop goal, the ire of the nation focused firmly on Barnes and his officiating.
In a Q & A with BT Sport, Barnes responded to the question ‘‘any decisions you regret?’’ by opening up about the decision.
‘‘I think, perhaps the most high-profile mistake was in 2007 when there was a forward pass in the lead up to a French try against New Zealand, the fallout from that was pretty huge,’’ he said. ‘‘I think I was voted the third most-hated man in New Zealand that year so it was pretty impressive.
‘‘As a referee you never want to be in the headlines and whenever you are, whether you’re right or wrong, that’s not what you’re there for.’’
Barnes is set to retire from refereeing after this year’s World Cup in Japan.
Barnes said one of his career highlights was refereeing in the special atmosphere during Ireland’s 16-9 win over New Zealand in Dublin last year.
‘‘That was a moment when you look around and you think ‘this is something special’,’’ he said.