The IRB have finally admitted what All Blacks fans knew all along. Wayne Barnes made a number of mistakes in the quarter-final between New Zealand and France.

However their public backing of Barnes raises a number of questions.The official review of his performance came to the conclusion that his refereeing performance did not affect the outcome of the game. While I agree with that, it does not change the fact that his performance was well below par.

There were three mistaken calls which were the focus of the review, all of which could have affected the outcome of the game. In refereeing terms, these are known as 'critical incidents'.

'Referees are well-paid professionals and fans would like to see some accountability instead of blind support for officials'


The most obvious of these was the forward pass from Frederick Michalak to Yannick Jauzion which lead to the match-winning try. In situations like that, it is often impossible for touch judges to be in a position to make this call, however the referee should be. Barnes was nowhere to be seen.

The other incidents were an offside and a hands-in-the-ruck offence in the final 10 minutes of the game. A penalty goal from either of these infringements could have altered the result.

An examination of the statistics leads to one of two conclusions. Barnes gave a total of 11 penalties in his game, in the other quarter-finals Alain Rolland gave 18, Alan Lewis 15 and Joel Jutge 22. A 'good' penalty count is somewhere between 18 and 24, so either Barnes was missing infringements or he put away his whistle and chose not to rule on infringements he did see.

After the match IRB Referees' Manager Paddy O'Brien backed Barnes to the hilt, making a number of claims which contradict the official review, of which O'Brien was a part. On national televisions O'Brien, himself a New Zealander and former Test referee, said that the French backs were "flat but not offside", and while he conceded Michalak's pass was forward, he said he would "stand by Barnes".

With the release of the official review, O'Brien gave Barnes a pass mark and said he would continue to be appointed to internationals. A pass mark for a game with three critical incidents? Most referees would be given a failing mark for just one.

The appointment of the youngest and least experienced referee at the World Cup to such an important game raised some eyebrows, but Barnes is considered, in O'Brien's own words, "the brightest star we have on our books". However the reason for Barnes' selection was not just his promise, but a bizarre selection practice which extends to all levels of refereeing.

Even at local level, referees who control a semi-final are almost never selected to then control the final. This pattern was repeated at the World Cup where none of those who controlled a quarter-final were given a semi. Instead of attempting to be fair to other referees, why not just appoint the best referees? Jake White is not going to drop Bryan Habana just to be fair to the other wingers in the squad.

Privately the IRB must be fuming that such a focus has been brought to the referees and how they have been forced to publicly defend them. They should look at their own systems which they designed to protect referees and ask if it is necessary. 

Many leagues around the world employ systems which exempt the referee from criticism and some even place media bans on their officials. Much of this dates back to the days when referees were amateurs and did a tough job that few wanted, but today referees are well-paid professionals and fans would like to see some accountability instead of blind support for officials.

The IRB need to take a close look at O'Brien and his post-match comments as well as his handling of the refereeing appointments at the World Cup. Where were well performed referees like Nigel Owen, or the most experienced referee ever, Paul Honiss, during the knockout phase? (Honiss has the play-off for third and fourth, a sort of refereeing booby prize) Why were top referees Jonathan Kaplan and Steve Walsh given semi-finals but not quarters?

No, Barnes did not cause the All Blacks' early exit from the tournament, they did that themselves by playing poorly. But that does not alter the fact that Barnes performed even worse.

If the IRB are serious about making rugby a global game, then they need to make some serious systemic changes to normalise the way the game is refereed and avoid making appointments for political reasons over performance. O'Brien was supposed to change all that when he was appointed Global Referees' Manager. He has failed and for that reason should step aside for someone with the guts and vision to do it.

Was the referee at fault? Were the All Blacks robbed? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.