Georgia v Romania
Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi
Saturday, 12 August, 2023
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Federico Vedovelli (FIR)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
Occupation: Barrister
The 41-year-old is an English international rugby union referee and barrister. It was law he studied at university and a career as a barrister he pursued after graduating, but as he started to progress up the ranks as a referee the RFU offered to employ him in 2005. He’s now refereed more Premiership games than any other official.
Wayne Barnes facts:
- When not on the pitch or working with the England team, Barnes is a practising barrister
- Barnes started playing rugby at the age of eight, and took up refereeing aged 15 with Gloucester & District Referees
- He also has two young children, Juno and Beau with wife Polly.
Wayne Barnes toughest player to referee Richie McCaw
BARNES SAID: “Richie always had the knack of asking the right question at the right time, sometimes it felt like I was losing a little bit of control. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t talk a lot on the field. He knew the law book inside out and so when he asked a question, he often had a point.”
