KEY POINTS:
Paddy O'Brien is in no doubt referees have to be a lot mentally tougher than they were in his day.
In the past five years, the game has become absurdly complex. Coaches have audiences before and after games and players push their luck more than they ever have.
But the biggest change has been technology which has given the armchair critic 101 angles to find a mistake and a world wide web on which to broadcast it.
One of O'Brien's proudest mementoes is a newspaper clipping from the third test in the 2001 Lions-Australia series. His name is mentioned just once, at the end match official: P. O'Brien. That's it.
No one even remembers he was there - the ultimate tribute a referee can be paid.
Now in charge of managing referees for the IRB, O'Brien can't see that happening again.
"I think you have to be mentally stronger now because there is a lot more scrutiny on referees after games, which I think is a wee bit sad at times. It is difficult for a young guy. If a referee has a bad day at the office he will be seen.
"But these guys know that before they go out there and we have got to stay focused on improving performance because when did you last see a referee that was not being commented upon? I have just reviewed five games and in every one the referee had things that he must work on.
"I think people have not got over Wayne Barnes so they were watching his every move. The week before was Alan Lewis, with Australia complaining about him while in New Zealand there were 10 reports saying he was excellent. The truth lies somewhere in the middle but there is no doubt the level of scrutiny is intense."
O'Brien admits he's protective of referees which is why he doesn't raise the point that perhaps the greater scrutiny is the result of the game being in the midst of a refereeing crisis.
This year three of New Zealand's best referees who were all on the IRB test panel (Lyndon Bray, Kelvin Deaker and Paul Honiss) retired. In the last few years, Australia have lost four experienced test referees and the truth is the gap in class between Jonathan Kaplan and Alain Rolland and the 15 other whistlers on the panel is more of a gulf.
Barnes was under intense scrutiny at Murrayfield given his performance in Cardiff last year, but even a casual observer would have sensed he was watching a young man ill at ease with his chosen craft. The game is desperate to attract new referees, preferably younger men so they are still fit enough for the top level by the time they have matured and gained the relevant experience.
"The difficulty referees face is that while half the audience will be shouting `for God's sake, let it go we paid $50 to be here', the other half will be saying `for God's sake, you are letting so much go'.
"It is a fine balancing act and that is why guys like Alain Rolland and Jonathan Kaplan are at the top, because they have got that balance. But they didn't get that overnight.
"Wayne is a work in progress and like all refs he'll be reviewing his game. He's rated very highly up here and the bottom line is he's moved on, the New Zealand team has moved on but some people will never move on. He knows that."
It's going to be tougher for Barnes and other referees to win the game time they need to mature and become more confident.
IRB headquarters have the message international coaches want the best referees in charge of the best games and next year the four or five best will ref more games.
Another change is a stricter ruling of the breakdown in Super 14. Northern Hemisphere referees have been told to take a zero tolerance approach to players coming off their feet at the breakdown and the Sanzar nations have agreed to do the same.
"Watch this space in New Zealand," says O'Brien. "There is nowhere in the laws where it says you are allowed to leave your feet. The referee has become part of the entertainment package. But the referee is not part of the entertainment package. It is up to players to keep their feet. I get annoyed because the referee is blamed when the game is stop-start.
"The IRB have told us they want players on their feet. We saw all the referee managers and referees last week and we resolved that we will get players on their feet.
"If it takes players time to adapt, so be it. We must referee the game globally and the pressure is going to go back on coaches to keep players up. It is not the referees' job to keep the game flowing."
Doesn't sound as if life is going to be easier for referees. If O'Brien guessed they now need to be 50 per cent mentally tougher, he'd probably be nowhere near.
