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.