#2. Wayne Barnes (England)
Possessing a strong character, Barnes had the courage to send off Dylan Hartley during the 2013 Premiership final, and is not willing to accept negativity from players posturing for penalties.
Barnes will edge closer to a century of international referee appointments when he takes the whistle for Scotland’s trip to Dublin in Round 5 of the 2022 Six Nations – which will be his 98th Test match and his 16th in the Championship.
The whistleblower also works part time as a barrister. He said of his weekly schedule: “On Monday and Tuesday we’ll do reviews and training as a referees group. On Wednesday I try to be in the chambers in town most of the time. Then it depends what the weekend is looking like.
“If it’s a Premiership game, I’ll likely be in chambers on Thursday too; if it’s a European week I’ll probably be travelling. It’s important to get away from rugby at times and this (being a barrister) is a good way to switch off.”
