2023-10-25 18:54:54
By the editorial staff
Published 3 hours ago, Updated 17 minutes ago
Wayne Barnes during Wales-Australia. Frédéric Chambert / PANORAMIC
World Rugby has revealed the referee for this tenth World Cup, which will take place on Saturday (9 p.m.) at the Stade de France.
Englishman Wayne Barnes, who holds the record for 110 test matches refereed, has been appointed to officiate during the Rugby World Cup final on Saturday between South Africa and New Zealand (9:00 p.m.). His assistants will be his compatriots Karl Dickson and Matthew Carley, with Tom Foley in charge of the video refereeing. This is the first time that a World Cup final will be refereed by officials all belonging to the same federation.
Wayne Barnes, considered the best referee in the world, will officiate his 27th Rugby World Cup match, the sixth of this edition taking place in France. He has so far handed out six yellow cards, including two in the quarter-final between the All Blacks and the Irish. He is considered the beast of the New Zealanders since he officiated in sixteen victories but also eight defeats.
Black beast of the All Blacks
During this World Cup, he refereed the All Blacks twice – against Uruguay (73-0) then the quarter-final against Ireland (28-24) – but not the Boks. In November 2022, he was on the whistle during the Blues’ success in Marseille against the South Africans (30-26). The director of South African rugby, Rassie Erasmus, violently criticized him after this setback.
Aged 44, a lawyer in civilian life, he is the second Englishman to referee a World Cup final after Ed Morrison in 1995. The poster was the same and had smiled on the Springboks, winners of the All Blacks (15-12 AD) . Wayne Barnes will officiate in his 27th match in five World Cups. He will equal his own record, established during the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where he refereed the bronze final won by New Zealand against Wales in Tokyo.
The final referees:
1987 : Kerry Fitzgerald (Australie)
1991: Derek Bevan (Wales)
1995 : Ed Morrison (Angleterre)
1999: Andre Watson (South Africa)
2003: Andre Watson (South Africa)
2007: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
2011: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
2015: Nigel Owens (Wales)
2019: Jérôme Garcès (France)
2023 : Wayne Barnes (Angleterre)
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