The recent Bath-Wasps game was a classic, but I found it had a distraction of the best sort. Wayne Barnes, the referee and Luke Pearce, the TMO, could be heard on the soundtrack as they conversed. Rugby is seen as a game almost impossible to referee and the TMO operation is disliked for the way it stops any flow. But the pair were brilliant. Even when the ball was in play, Pearce was talking – he was brief and accurate, and conducted snap reviews of incidents. If no review was needed they carried on. It was maestro stuff from two men who trusted each other.
On Saturday, Barnes, 43, referees Wales against New Zealand in Cardiff. It will be his 100th Test and only his
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