markkell says...

Hardly the dream referee team from a Leinster point of view. Of course it's not a job that wins admirers - they ultimately seem to disappoint/annoy/enrage the supporters of every team they referee but the stats don't lie. Since 2008 Barnes has officiated in 6 games involving Ireland, 5 of which have been lost by Ireland amid a plethora of dubious decisions. This is not to mention the penalty count which has tended to go about 70% against Irish teams. Not feeling the glow of confidence about this game!

Posted 09:23 24th April 2012

blametheref says...

Why can't we have the "quiet " Joubert for this game Leinster v Clermont, he's the best ref around in my book and goes about his business without the fuss and usual lectures we hear more and more from his co referees...Wayne Barnes has been apalling when it comes to Irish teams and can lose control at scrum time and make snap decisions that are clearly wrong and game changing...For this game Barnes was the one ref I was praying we didn't get

Posted 11:09 21st April 2012

pierredelot1 says...

Frankly the whole thing is a mess. the two Irish referees are pretty ordinary, look at Clancy last week, couldn't recognise a set scrum at five yards. least of all how to referee one. Rolland well the less said the better. Poite has not been great this season and neither has Barnes but to accuse him of bias against the Irish is just plain stupid. It seems to me more and more that this lot have been at the top of the tree for some time and all have got worse the longer they stayed there. Owens has also gone downhill the last 18 months, Pearson well he is a joke, who wants to be refereed by a hail fellow well met. Sadly Joubert isn't able to cover them all but we need some new blood and we need it fast. At any one time there have never been more than four really good unbiased fair referees at this level, seems things are sliding fast. Personally I'd like referees to concentrate on refereeing and have a totally seperate body running the line at major events, I just get the feeling that referes spend too much time concentrating on the wrong things when running the line. It's a different skill and should be treated as such. Pity we are not privy to the feedback.

Posted 12:54 19th April 2012

howrtings says...

What a disgrace!! These Ref's have every chance of ruining the Semi's

HC Semi-Finals are big occasions - if these two are considered two of the best in Europe - then there is a big shortage of Referee's around.

Posted 11:20 18th April 2012