In a rather uncharacteristic turn of events within the world of rugby, the hallowed respect for match officials seemed to dissipate during the All Blacks' commanding triumph over Uruguay last night.
Even before the first whistle blew, Wayne Barnes, who holds the distinction of being the most experienced referee in rugby history, found himself at the receiving end of some rather unwelcome heckling from the stands.
Adding an intriguing dimension to the situation, Wayne's wife, Polly Barnes, who also happens to be the co-founder of the Women's Rugby Association, took to Twitter to express her thoughts.
In her tweet, she mused, "Always lovely when refs get booed in stadiums before they’ve even run on the pitch at the Rugby World Cup. Yay for rugby values!"
The echoes of disapproval ringing in Wayne Barnes's ears likely have roots tracing back to a fateful moment in 2007.
It was during that World Cup when a controversial decision made by Barnes earned him the dubious distinction of being named the most reviled figure in New Zealand.
The incident revolved around Barnes's failure to spot a blatant forward pass from Damien Traille to Freddie Michalak in the buildup to a crucial France try.
This contentious call ultimately contributed to the All Blacks experiencing their earliest-ever exit from the World Cup, a bitter pill for New Zealand rugby faithful to swallow.
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5 Most Controversial Referee Decisions in Rugby History
Pilloried for the decisions they give and castigated for the ones they don't, referees do not have an easy job.
These days it's even harder, as technology allows their every decision to be dissected and discussed by the watching public.
However, some calls are just so bad, they deserve to be pulled apart time and time again.
Organised in chronological order, this is not an all-encompassing list, so feel free to add your own refereeing gaffes in the comments section below.
#5. Scotland v Australia a the 2015 World Cup
Scotland were heavy underdogs in this game and yet a Mark Bennett interception try with seven minutes to go, seemed to have given Scotland the victory and place in the semi finals.
With 2 minutes left to play, Scotland make a hash of their lineout, the ball bobbles around a few times and Joubert awards a penalty to Australia for Scotland playing the ball in an offside position.
At the time, the TMO couldn’t be used to review these sorts of incidents, so Craig Joubert was left to make a decision based on what he saw in that split second. Unfortunately for him, the penalty incident was replayed on the big screen as the kick was taken and the crowd could see the ball had hit an Australian player.
The game finished with Joubert beating a hasty retreat from the ground, after Foley had kicked the penalty to give Australia a 35-34 point victory.
World Rugby later released a statement saying that Joubert had got it wrong.
#3. Third test of the British and Irish Lions 2017 tour
The ball comes forward from Liam Williams and Ken Owens momentarily catches the ball before dropping it. Referee Romain Poite immediately signals for a penalty for a deliberate offside, and in such a kickable position the series looks to be New Zealand’s.
After demonstrations from the Lions’ captain Sam Warburton, Poite decides to ask the TMO to check the incident.
After talking to the TMO Poite seems to be happy with his original decision that it was a deliberate offside and therefore a penalty, but by the time he has walked over to the two captains, his view has changed and he deems Owens’ intervention to be accidental and therefore just a scrum.
Make your own mind up. Did Read fairly challenge Williams in the air? Did the ball come forward off Williams? Was Owens’ contact accidental or deliberate?
#3. Speargate on the Lions Tour
The first game of the Lions tour of New Zealand was swept into controversy following a horrific spear tackle on Captain Brian O’Driscoll, which ended his tour within minutes. The tackle, with O’Driscoll picked up by two players in the ruck, was against the rules, but the ref waved play on.
The moment caused a major knock-on effect in World Rugby, tightening up restrictions on spear tackling.
#2. Mark Cueto's try
Matthew Tait sliced open the Boks defence and hurtled towards the line. Andy Gomarsall moved it quickly to Mark Cueto on the left wing who dived through the tackle of Danie Rossouw and over the line.
Alain Rolland called for the TMO. It was tight. Impossibly tight. No try.
England were instead awarded a penalty which Wilkinson slotted, and roused by Cueto’s diving effort they had the momentum.
But the Springbok nut was impossible to crack. Montgomery’s boot kept a huffing and puffing England at bay, guiding his side to a 15-6 win.
South Africa were deserved World Champions, England the plucky, dethroned former kings.
But if Cueto’s ghost try had stood, it all could have been so different.
#1. Wayne Barnes - NZ v France 2007 RWC
Many Kiwis still haven't gotten over Barnes' performance in the 2007 RWC quarter-final against France.
Barnes missed a clear forward pass from Damien Traille to Freddie Michalak in the lead up to a France try.
It led to the All Blacks' earliest ever exit from a World Cup.
Answering a Q&A on .
BT Sport, Barnes was asked whether there are any decisions he regrets making throughout his career ahead of his final year in refereeing.
“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,” Barnes told BT Sport
“I think I was voted the third most-hated man in New Zealand that year so it was pretty impressive."
