Wayne Barnes (born 20 April 1979) is an English international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He is a regular referee in the

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

, and has refereed games in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

. At international level, Barnes has refereed matches at the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

, the Six Nations, the Rugby Championship and the

Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First held ...

competitions.

Early life

Born in

Bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including ''Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), ''Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', ''Blicca'', '' Brama'', ''Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', ''Lepo ...

, in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, he was educated at Whitecross School; and at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

Refereeing career

Barnes started playing rugby at the age of eight, and took up refereeing aged 15 with Gloucester & District Referees. At university he transferred to the Norfolk Referees Society, part of Eastern Counties (ECRURF) followed by a transfer to

London Society of RFU Referees London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. In 2001, at the age of 21, Barnes became the youngest referee ever appointed to the Panel of National Referees. He became a professional referee in April 2005. Barnes refereed at the 2003 U19 World Cup in Saint-Denis, the

2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship The 2005 Under-21 Rugby World Championship took place in Argentina between 9 June and 25 June 2005. The 2005 championship was the fourth contested. This championship saw South Africa win the final over Australia 24–20. Venues Participant ...

in Argentina, and was the English representative on the Sevens circuit from December 2003 to March 2005. In 2006, Barnes made his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

debut as a referee, taking charge of three matches in the inaugural

Pacific Five Nations The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First held ...

. Barnes was one of three English referees to officiate at the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, the others being Chris White and

Tony Spreadbury Antony John "Tony" Spreadbury (born 28 March 1962 Bath, Somerset, Bath, England) is a retired international rugby union referee. In his earlier years, he attended Beechen Cliff School, in Bath, England, Bath. He refereed at the 2003 Rugby World ...

. After New Zealand were knocked out of the quarter-final,

Bebo Bebo ( ) was an American Social networking service, social networking website that originally operated from 2005 until its bankruptcy in 2013 and relaunched in February 2021. The site relaunched several times after its bankruptcy with a number ...

profiles were created by some New Zealand fans dedicated to criticism, and abuse, of Barnes. Comments on Bebo and other internet sites, including death threats and personal abuse, were condemned by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

and

New Zealand Prime Minister The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (informa ...

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

. He was, however, later chosen to referee France vs All Blacks in Paris during their end of year tour. In the

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

, Barnes became the first English official ever to take charge of a match at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

, in which Wales beat Ireland 16–12. In the

2009 Six Nations Championship The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national t ...

, Barnes refereed the final-day decider between Wales and Ireland at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

where Ireland were chasing their first

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

for 61 years and Wales chasing the Championship. He was appointed in 2008 to take charge of his first Heineken Cup knockout match, between Stade Toulousain and Cardiff Blues at Le Stadium on 6 April 2008. In 2010, Barnes officiated his first Heineken Cup Final between Toulouse and Biarritz at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, on 22 May. After officiating at his second Rugby World Cup (in New Zealand) in 2011 and presiding over the third/fourth place play off game between Wales and Australia, Barnes refereed the Heineken Cup semi-final match on Sunday 29 April 2012; Clermont Auvergne v Leinster. Barnes was one of the officials present at the Pacific Nations' Cup in Japan in 2013. On 25 May 2013, Barnes refereed the English Premiership final between Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints (his fifth English Premiership final), during which Barnes sent off Northampton captain

Dylan Hartley Dylan Hartley (born 24 March 1986) is a former England Rugby captain who represented England and Northampton Saints. Hartley was the captain of England from January 2016 until the end of his international career in 2019. He is England's most ca ...

for calling him "a fucking cheat". This was the first time a player had been sent off in an English Premiership final. Hartley's subsequent 11-week ban at an RFU disciplinary hearing cost him his place on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia (their first successful tour for sixteen years). Barnes was one of 12 referees selected to officiate the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

. On 22 December 2017, Barnes broke the all time Premiership appearances record (191) for a referee while officiating Worcester Warriors 23–8 victory over London Irish. He was selected as a match official for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

in Japan. In January 2022, Barnes refereed his 250th Premiership Rugby match. On 5 November 2022, Barnes refereed the match between Wales and New Zealand in the 2022 Autumn Nations Series. It was his 100th international match as a referee, equalling the record set by Wales'

Nigel Owens Nigel Owens, (born 18 June 1971) is a Welsh former international rugby union referee, who retired in December 2020 after a 17-year career. He currently holds the world record for the most test matches refereed and is one of five international re ...

References

External links

Rugby World Cup 2007 match official appointments set
IRB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Wayne 1979 births Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia English barristers English rugby union referees People educated at Monmouth School for Boys People from Lydney Sportspeople from Gloucestershire Rugby World Cup referees Six Nations Championship referees European Rugby Champions Cup referees EPCR Challenge Cup referees The Rugby Championship referees Premiership Rugby referees People from Bream, Gloucestershire