October 31st 2023: Dear World Rugby

Please don't ruin rugby. It's a great game. It brings nations together and it deserves to be respected.

Full credit to South Africa for winning the Webb Ellis Cup in France. Deserved champions without a doubt. But the spectacle that should have been a showcase of two of the best teams in the world was suffocated by appalling officiating.

I've always had a pang of dislike for Wayne Barnes – ironically since that forward pass in the France v New Zealand World Cup quarterfinal in 2007, which was among other errors for which a TMO would have proved useful.

But while Wayne Barnes was still wet behind the ears in 2007, there is no question he is now the best referee in the world. Yes, he admitted to a mistake in this latest debacle, when he incorrectly pinged Ardie Savea, to give the Boks an easy three.

But the madness actually came from a bunch of men crowded around a TV screen upstairs watching 120 frames per second replays of every move the All Blacks made. They'd then hand Barnes a string of terrible calls, usurp his command of the game, introduce inconsistency and micro-manage any scrap of excitement out of the match.

TMO should be a tool a referee uses to make the calls when they are unsure how to rule, but in that RWC final it made a mockery of Barnes and the chain of command. Put the TMO back in the box. Trust and respect your referees. Let the games flow.

Drama and disappointment aside, what an amazing show of heart by the All Blacks at Stade de France. To play with 14 in the way they did – winning the second half against all odds – just a phenomenal display of greatness. And Sam Cane, Fozzie, hold your heads high. That call was brutal, but how you brought the team through the campaign – and to win the gargantuan battle with the Irish – was inspiring.

World Rugby, you did get one thing right in announcing Ardie Savea as the men's player of the year. Ardie is pure class.

This week's images: Friday's snow was pretty spectacular and a few empty waves as the south swell mellowed out.

See you at the beach ... Derek

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