RateTheRef

Barnes was excellent. I sensed a degree of sadness and sympathy on his face at having to give the red card given the magnitude of the decision.
The red card of course had an effect and once again I feel a world Rugby has to look at the way it addresses head tackles. I fully accept their reasoning in trying to eliminate head injuries and the longer term consequences in some cases and this was the right decision given the laws as they stand. But it is a man’s game, played by big men at a fast pace and collisions are going to happen. In a split second it can be almost impossible to change stance or direction. Cane was not guilty of deliberate foul play, just of getting his body shape wrong. I would much rather see red cards left for serious foul play and maybe such cases as Cane’s resulting in a longer sin binning rather than a permanent dismissal.
In the cold light of day there is something not right in my mind that a World Cup Final has probably hinged on a team losing a player after getting his shape wrong rather than being guilty of serious foul
I probably haven’t explained this as well as I should but I hope some of you will understand what I am trying to say.

Very interesting piece in today's Times by Stephen Jones saying that, in his opinion, Wayne Barnes is the greatest Rugby referee of all time. Quite a claim but in the end it's all just a matter of opinion.

If Luke Pearce is not injured and has just be overlooked then I think he has been treated very shabbily indeed.

Ditto re Luke Pearce, totally bizarre

A whole lot of intriguing questions spring to mind, many covered already -

1. Why has Pearce not been involved after the group stages? Most of us on here have been lauding him as the natural successor to Barnes, and quite rightly so, but surely his omission must be injury related as he is the only 1 of the 12 not to feature. He performed well in his 4 matches so, if it’s not injury related, it’s a complete mystery.
2. Do we now see a different hierarchy developing in English refereeing with Dickson and Carley ahead of Pearce? Staggering if so
3. And for me the most intriguing question - if England had held on and it had been an England v NZ final who would have got the nod? Does Berry’s appointment for the 3/4 games suggest him? And would the England quartet have got the 3/4 match or someone else? We will never know but it’s fascinating to speculate

Wayne Barnes a very relieved man tonight

Yep, he can start polishing his Acme Thunderer now

Sounds like Wharf is unwell, possibly a touch of the Bombay trots or similar. Shame for him as this is probably the highlight of his career so far

Belgium v Sweden abandoned following the shootings in Brussels this evening.

Absolute tragedy. Football pales into insignificance when things like this happen. Thoughts with all affected

Basically, you have to be behind the line prior to the kicker starting his run- there are reports, this wasn't the case and no footage shown at the time (there apparently is subsequent footage which I haven't seen) - quite honestly, there are 4 other officials watching this including the TMO, you would like to think this was checked!!
On a separate note, we are being reliable informed that the AR1's on the quarter finals were ranked 5-8 over the group games. Wow seriously? Carley over Pearce? Dickson over Gardner? I'm flabbergasted by that to be honest.

And Nika? 😱

I would like to reflect on the retirement of 2 of the best NH referees - Sexton and Biggar will be deeply missed 😀

Perhaps as players but they were two of the biggest wringing moaners in world rugby and that side of them won’t be missed. The picture of Biggar looking on with a typical sarcastic expression and arms outstretched as Dickson explained the non red card decision and the footage of Sexton verbally castigating one of the All Blacks at the final whistle will sadly be how many of us will remember them as much as for their creative side.