IRB defends referee as teams prepare for semifinals

PARIS: The International Rugby Board (IRB) defended World Cup referee Wayne Barnes on Tuesday after he received internet death threats and suffered abuse for his handling of France's quarterfinal win over New Zealand.

The IRB issued a statement saying criticism of the English referee was "completely unwarranted" and added it believed the standard of refereeing was the highest it has ever been at a World Cup.

The IRB's referee manager Paddy O'Brien admitted Barnes had missed a forward pass that led to France's match-winning try last Saturday but insisted he was not to blame for the All Blacks' defeat.

"New Zealand losing that game was not all about the forward pass," O'Brien told BBC radio.

"I think it's a disgrace and people have to grow up," he said.

The All Blacks are due to arrive home on Wednesday and are expecting hostility after their earliest exit from the tournament.

Australian players returned on Tuesday after their surprise elimination by England and were given a relatively gentle reception.

"We've had some good wins and we had a disappointing result the other day," coach John Connolly told reporters on arrival.

While the two biggest losers were trying to explain what went wrong, the four survivors were turning their attention to this weekend's semifinals in Paris.

First cup

The hosts' victory over favourite New Zealand sparked celebrations unseen in France since it won soccer's World Cup in 1998 and raised expectations it could win its first rugby World Cup after losing the 1987 and 1999 finals.

The French were in danger of making an embarrassing early exit after losing their opening match to Argentina and while their victory over New Zealand was a confidence-booster, their captain France Raphael Ibanez said they faced an even bigger obstacle in England next weekend.

"We know what Saturday's win represents," Ibanez said. "However, it was only a quarterfinal.

"Now we have a semifinal against the world champions coming up. A tougher challenge lies ahead."

After two days of recovery, England got back to serious training, adding an evening session to get their body clocks adjusted to Saturday's 1900 GMT kick off at the Stade de France.

"What we are trying to do is develop a game plan for all situations," flanker Martin Corry said. "What worked against Australia might not work against France."

South Africa also booked themselves an evening session to prepare for Sunday's 1900 GMT start against surprise semifinalists Argentina.

The Springboks will go into the match as firm favourites but the coaching staff is worried about how they will handle the Argentine forwards.

"If we don't stand up physically with their strength then we're in for a hiding," assistant coach Allister Coetzee said.

Argentina took the day off training to recover mentally as well as physically from their bruising victory over Scotland.

"This week we will focus a lot on recovery so as not to reach the semifinal wiped out. One's head is a fundamental aspect," said flanker Juan Manuel Leguizamon.

Agencies

(China Daily 10/11/2007 page24)