Wayne Barnes recalls feeling ill during Wales’ pool match against Australia He travelled back to the UK for a heart procedure before officiating the final Barnes’ lengthy Test refereeing career spanned 17 years and a record 111 Tests
The referee who took charge of the 2023 Rugby World Cup final has revealed he had to have his heart restarted midway through the tournament after feeling ill.
Wayne Barnes, who announced his retirement last year after a Test refereeing career spanning 17 years and a record number of matches, recalled his heart rate reaching 230 beats per minute during a running session in Paris.
He also described his legs as feeling like ‘wet spaghetti’ and struggled to breathe. However, just four days later he officiated Wales’ pool victory against Australia.
Barnes, 45, was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation in 2009 and several years later went into tachycardia, with his cardiologist resetting his heart’s rhythm.
But despite suffering another health scare in France last year, Barnes travelled down to Lyon for Wales’ match and decided he would continue officiating as planned.
Referee Wayne Barnes revealed his heart was restarted midway through last year’s World Cup
Barnes (pictured with his wife Polly) travelled back to the UK to undergo a procedure
‘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 eventually informed his team that his heart had starting racing but deliberately downplayed his concern to avoid worrying them.
The next morning, he contacted his cardiologist and was told to come to London.
‘When I called to tell him what was going on, he replied saying he thought I’d looked fine,’ Barnes added. ‘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.
‘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.
The 45-year-old contacted his cardiologist after his heart rate increased during a session
Barnes returned to France to take charge of the World Cup final and retired shortly after
He was awarded an OBE at Windsor Castle earlier this year for his services to rugby union
‘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 then had his heart restarted in a simple procedure and was told he would even be able to return to his duties for the rest of the World Cup.
To avoid being stood down, though, Barnes did not inform his bosses about his condition and went on to referee the final between South Africa and New Zealand.
That match proved to be his finale with the official deciding to retire shortly after.
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Rugby World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes reveals he had to have his heart RESTARTED midway through the tournament and kept his health scare a secret from bosses
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