Wayne Barnes retires from refereeing

[Stu10]

I guess most people have seen this news, though I was surprised no one had already posted. Maybe nothing to discuss? IMHO, he has made this decision early as a result of online abuse, but his wish to prioritise family is an excellent reason! Maybe it's getting challenging at 44 years old, but I don't think there are signs of him struggling to keep up. Personally, I think this is a loss to the game, though happy to see that he will continue working with the International Rugby Match Officials' association.

World Cup final referee Barnes announces retirement

England's Wayne Barnes announces his retirement from refereeing following his appearance in last Saturday's Rugby World Cup final.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Volun-selected]

IMHO, he has made this decision early as a result of online abuse, but his wish to prioritise family is an excellent reason! Maybe it's getting challenging at 44 years old, but I don't think there are signs of him struggling to keep up. Personally, I think this is a loss to the game, though happy to see that he will continue working with the International Rugby Match Officials' association.

May well be that he decided to quit while at the top of his game, but the abuse just made the decision easier.

Certainly a loss for the game, hopefully there is a good flow of younger talent coming up through the ranks.

 

[didds]

It possibly may bring other issues in its wake but wouldnt it be great if he occasionally turned out for community games for his local society Spredders occasionally used to make it to Devzies back in the day and was quite active AIUI in the Glos (?) society

 

[crossref]

i think he mostly wants to get on with the next phase of his life - the lawyering. It's probably about time that received 100% of his attention