We find out more about the world’s most capped test referee Wayne Barnes as the RFU visiting him at his workplace and finding out more about what makes him tick away from rugby.
Reacting to the video, one fan wrote: “Great to see this. Supporting the refs at all levels of the game is vital to its success and to see what Wayne has achieved is pretty impressive. Rugby is the greatest sport on the planet for those who know and everyone involved makes it that way but the respect for the refs take it to a level above other “world” games.”
A second wrote: “Jesus what an impressive bloke! Barrister and top ref that takes some doing. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him have a bad game to be honest! Get this bloke a statue please RFU,”
Another commented: “Great guy and one of the best referees in the world. Totally unjustified hate coming from the SA fans, who seem to be getting more and more paranoid.”
Wayne Barnes facts:
- When not on the pitch or working with the England team, Barnes is a practising barrister
- Barnes started playing rugby at the age of eight, and took up refereeing aged 15 with Gloucester & District Referees
- He also has two young children, Juno and Beau with wife Polly.
Record-breaking Wayne Barnes ranks the five toughest players to referee
#5. Joe Marler (England)
Joe Marler facts:
- Marler started his career at Haywards Heath RFC in Sussex where he played in the same side as fellow England international Billy Twelvetrees
- After joining the Quins academy in 2008, the prop spent some time on loan to Esher and Worthing
- He’s been nicknamed Croissant. In his own words, it’s because: “The boys think I have a nose that looks like a French pastry.”
- Marler was captain for England at U18s level and represented the U20 squad throughout the Junior World Championship in summer 2009
- He is also one of the hosts of The Joe Marler Show podcast with Tom Fordyce