This weekend, the ever-present Wayne Barnes will be refereeing a record 10th Premiership final. In the wake of his achievement, a video from 2013 has been given a new lease of life on TikTok, amassing huge viewing figures.
We've all heard Nigel Owens' famous interactions with players, and this one from Barnes is hugely reminiscent of the stern Welshman. Northampton Saints were taking on Leicester Tigers, when Dylan Hartley of the Saints made a comment that bordered on scandalous
Just moments before his red card, Barnes had given Hartley a big warning "This isn't how you behave as a champion, please keep your comments to yourself or I may have to deal with it by way of penalty." Despite being previously warned for his behaviour, Hartley proceeded to call Barnes a "f*****g cheat", and it was plain as day to hear.
Barnes whipped out the red almost immediately, giving the Saints captain his marching orders in the biggest game of the season, a very bold call to say the least.
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You can hear Barnes through the microphone, saying: "This man just came up to me and called me a f*****g cheat, he leaves the field." Despite their initial shock at the sending off, the commentary team get fully behind Barnes after his big call.
"If Dylan Hartley has sworn at the referee, then this is exactly the right decision. This is rugby, not football, you do not speak to the officials like that."
Hartley was handed an 11-week suspension after the game, and did not appeal against it. Despite a stellar career with England, this suspension had huge consequences on his rugby journey. The hooker had been selected to represent the British and Irish Lions, and was due to fly out to Hong Kong two days after the final. His red card in the final meant he was ruled out of the tour completely, and he would never represent the Lions. A moment of madness resulted in huge consequences.
It is no surprise this video has been given a new lease of life in the past few days, with a very big weekend coming up for Barnes. He is set to referee a record 10th Premiership final, as Saracens take on Leicester Tigers at Twickenham. His first final was Wasps v Leicester in 2008 as the aforementioned outfit secured the title for that season. Barnes joked on Twitter with how long ago it was.
In just three days, the video has eclipsed 500,000 views and 28,000 likes. The TikTok audience have been relishing reminiscing about this famous Barnes moment.
"Love that every comment from a rugby fans says the ref was 100% correct. Respect." said one.
