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21 February, 2026, 3:28 pm
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All Blacks lodge complaint over officiating in Rugby World Cup final defeat
Wayne Barnes announces retirement from match officiating to concentrate on new ventures

All Blacks lodge complaint over officiating in Rugby World Cup final defeat

Wayne Barnes announces retirement from match officiating to concentrate on new ventures

By Alipate Narawa
03/11/2023
Wayne Barnes refereeing the Rugby World Cup final between All Blacks and Springboks.

The All Blacks have filed a complaint with the authorities over the officiating of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final where they went down 12-11 to South Africa.

Ian Foster’s men were unhappy with some of the decisions which went against them in the showpiece event.

The All Blacks played the majority of the match with 14 men after Sam Cane was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel.

Foster says they have already sent a file into World Rugby to get them to make a few comments on.

The general consensus was that Wayne Barnes and his team did an excellent job in what was a difficult match to referee, but the All Blacks may take umbrage over a couple of technical penalties.

It was also a match littered with cards, but Barnes had no other option with those.

There were four in total, with Cane and Shannon Frizell, who was sin-binned, being punished for the All Blacks, and Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi seeing yellow for the Springboks.

Meanwhile, World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont has led the tributes to Wayne Barnes, who today announced he is to step down from match officiating to concentrate on new ventures.

Barnes’ stellar test refereeing career spanned 17 years, a record 111 tests and five Rugby World Cups as well as numerous domestic and European finals.

[Source: planetrugby]

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