An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Welshman and divided loyalties

This weekend, the seven-week extravaganza that has been the Rugby World Cup reaches its penultimate stage with the two semi-finals. On Saturday, a Welshman Nigel Owens will referee the match between England and the New Zealand All Blacks. On Sunday, a Frenchman Jerome Garces will referee the match between Wales and South Africa. One of his assistants (“touch judge” to me, still living in the 20th century) will be the English referee, Wayne Barnes. These are the three most likely contenders for the coveted role a week later of refereeing the final. There are other candidates, but those three have been the most highly rated referees over the past couple of years and must be the favourites for the role. Their closest competitor, the South African Jakob Peyper, has just fallen foul of a stupid faux pas in an embarrassing photo gone viral and has thus probably blown his chance.

If England and Wales upset the odds and win their ways into the final, then the French referee Jerome Garces will get the gig almost by default. To be fair, Garces probably starts as favourite anyway. He is the least controversial and criticised of the three. Owen has already refereed one World Cup Final – the last one in 2015. Spreading rugby beyond the anglophone world has to be a positive for the game. And Garces is competent, unfussy, devoid of ego and with an above-average command of English. Yet the claims of Owen and Barnes will challenge him if Wales and England respectively fail to make the final.

Hence the divided loyalties of the Welshman and the Englishman. Are they cheering like good patriots for their own country in the “other” match (i.e. the one in which they are not officiating next weekend)? Or are they silently willing on their country’s opponents in the hope that they themselves will thus stay in contention for that magic, career-topping accolade? With an extra tweak for Nigel Owen, the Welshman refereeing the semi final between England and New Zealand. One of his two closest rivals for that accolade is the English referee Wayne Barnes. There is no serious contender from the ranks of New Zealand referees. So if England prevail over the All Blacks in the semi final, that will rule out Barnes and just leave him with Garces to pip to the post. Provided, of course, that Wales do not next day achieve the heart-warming turn-up of the tournament and defeat the powerful South Africans. That would be delirium for all Welsh supporters in Japan … bar one.