the incredible revelation of Wayne Barnes

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In a chronicle of TelegraphWayne Barnes revealed an incredible fact about his journey during the Rugby World Cup 2023excerpt from his book Throwing the book. The leading referee, who officiated during the final and retired immediately, tells us how his heart had to be restarted between two meetings.

Wayne Barnes reveals how his heart had to be restarted

In this passage from his book, Wayne Barnes ends with the story of the ceremony after the final whistle of the World Cup final won by South Africa against the All Blacks, and his satisfaction at being able to admire fireworks with his wife and children. A moment that might well not have happened.

Indeed, earlier in the competition, he mainly recounts the heart problems that occurred during the qualifying phase, and a heart that raced during a short jog with his fellow referees Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley.

“After 15 minutes of easy running, I looked at my watch and my heart rate had gone up to 230 beats per minute. […] When I have to give it my all in a match, it sometimes hits 175. My legs were weak, I couldn’t take a deep breath, and I had to referee a crucial match between Wales and Australia four days later,” says Wayne Barnes.

Heart surgery between two matches for Barnes

During the following days, the professional lawyer explains how he hesitated to warn the governing bodies, who would undoubtedly have forced him to withdraw if they had known of his tachycardia concerns. In the end, he said nothing and somehow managed to get through the meeting.

“Ah, now I’m in trouble,” he nevertheless said to himself when he had to produce a violent effort to follow a breakthrough from Gareth Davies after three minutes of play. At that moment in the Coupe du world, he nevertheless intended to throw in the towel: “It would not have been fair for the teams to referee them in these conditions. »

But a phone call to his surgeon Richard Schilling, since he had already suffered from heart problems in the past, changed everything. The Wednesday after the match, and a few days before his next match, he secretly flew to London to undergo an operation.

“While I was under anesthesia, Richard restarted my heart. He told me that my left ventricle was enlarged and that I would need to have another operation in the future, but that everything would be fine for the rest of the World Cup. […] I managed to hide my shaved chest and the burn marks from the defibrillator in the locker rooms (the following weekend, editor’s note) and I didn’t even need the medicine that Richard had given me,” recounts the arbitrator.

A few days later, Joël Jutge told him that he would be the referee of the final and that he could end his career on the most beautiful stage.

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