The England Rugby Referee Association has confirmed the match officials who will be heading to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan this September.
They tweeted: “MASSIVE congratulations to match officials Wayne Barnes, Luke Pearce, Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson, Rowan Kitt and Graham Hughes on your appointments to the Rugby World Cup.”
MASSIVE congratulations to @EnglandRugby 🌹match officials Wayne Barnes, Luke Pearce, Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson, Rowan Kitt and Graham Hughes on your appointments to @rugbyworldcup 2019 from everyone at @KYBOEngland and the England Rugby Referees Association! #crouchbindgrow pic.twitter.com/zOAPcnwmNS
— ER Refs Association (@ERRefereesAssoc) April 2, 2019
It will likely be the last Rugby World Cup for Barnes.
This will be his fourth Rugby World Cup; he has a growing young family and his wife, Polly, has just had a work promotion.
He also wants to give more time to his “other” job, as a barrister specialising in bribery and corruption at a London chambers, a far cry from his teenage holiday job crushing berries in a Ribena factory.