Rugby World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes has revealed that he had his heart restarted midway through the tournament in 2023. The 45-year-old official has opened up on a secret trip home to London to undergo the procedure before he took charge of the showdown between South Africa and New Zealand.
In a new book, Barnes recalls his heart rate reaching a concerning 230 beats per minute during a running session in Paris. He describes a feeling in his legs as being like “wet spaghetti” and claims he was struggling to breathe.
Barnes, who was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in 2009 and several years later went into tachycardia, took charge of Wales’ pool victory against Australia four days later. It did not take long for him to encounter another scare.
“Three minutes into the game, Wales executed a move off a lineout and scrum-half Gareth Davies went flying over for a try,” Barnes wrote in his book. “It was a start I could have done without, seeing as it required me to run about 50 metres.
“I thought, ‘Oh s***, I’m in trouble here…’
“I limited my running as much as possible for the rest of the first half, which both teams made easier for me by giving loads of penalties away, but I knew I had to tell my fellow referees during the break.”
Barnes writes that he informed his fellow officials of his racing heart but played down the issue to prevent them from feeling concerned. He called his cardiologist the next morning and was able to book a flight home 24 hours later. However, he did not tell his bosses.
“When I called to tell him what was going on, he replied saying he thought I’d looked fine. When I told him I hadn’t felt fine, he told me to get hold of an Apple watch and send him an ECG reading,” Barnes continued.
“I did so and he replied saying my heart was in tachycardia again, but that he could see me in London the following day. He made it sound as if it was nothing more than a cold, which put my mind at rest.
“As luck would have it, Wednesday was our day off, so I booked myself a 6am flight and was back in London before breakfast.”
Barnes had his heart restarted in a simple procedure and returned to Paris as if nothing had happened – with nobody informed of his trip. He took charge of the final – South Africa’s 12-11 triumph over New Zealand – before deciding to retire.
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