He is retiring I'm pretty sure.Wonder if he'd rather ref the final without England in it or watch it on tv with England. Especially if he retires. Prob rather England win it but deep down as a last chance to ref a final before he retires.
He's too good for it I think. They'll want to expose a young guy to a real tough match. Give peyper and Barnes the weekend off and let them watch the final with the refs and rib each other. As much as they probably support their teams, they both have to be a little disappointed. Both have worked extremely hard for this and it just wasn't meant to be.What about Peyper? He was only stood down for the semi's, he could also still be in charge of the 3rd/4th place playoff match.
But yeah, I feel sorry for Barnes, he was the best in the tournament of all the referees.
Given that John f***ing Lacey is probably our top ref explains a lot of our issues...He's too good for it I think. They'll want to expose a young guy to a real tough match. Give peyper and Barnes the weekend off and let them watch the final with the refs and rib each other. As much as they probably support their teams, they both have to be a little disappointed. Both have worked extremely hard for this and it just wasn't meant to be.
also important to note that the top tier refs for each country do train with the national teams. I've seen peyper train with the springboks and I'd imagine Barnes does with England. They are just as important as tackle bag holders or other support staff. They've each played a role in getting those teams where they are now.
What about our "this is how a competent ref acts" and then we get tosh once we play a game.Given that John f***ing Lacey is probably our top ref explains a lot of our issues...
No sympathy when you actively and shamelessly try to buy refs off like!What about our "this is how a competent ref acts" and then we get tosh once we play a game.
I think there's a decent ref in there, but he's just not there yet.What about Gus Gardner?
Copped a bit of criticism during pool play, especially by Joe, but he's still young and he's a very good ref.
On a side note - I read somewhere that Jaco is only 39? All due respect but I thought he was a fair bit older than that.