Wayne Barnes uses ninja-turtles to clarify heavily disputed law

Here's what they can and can't do explained by Wayne Barnes.

“We often see a ball carrier when they’re about to be tackled, lower their height and brace themselves for contact,” he said.  

“Here we see Michelangelo bracing, ready for Raphael to tackle him using either his arm, his bicep, or even his shoulder to make sure that tackle is more difficult. That’s perfectly legal. 

“What Michaelangel can’t do is lift his arm just before the contact and smack Raphael in the head. That’s illegal, that’s foul play and that will probably mean a card to the Turtle here [the tackler].

“So feel free to drop your height, keep your arm next to your body, but don’t raise it at the last moment. And that’s why you’ll hear referees talking to their TMOs and saying ‘at the point of contact, where was the arm? Against the body or away from the body?’

“What is fine though, is after that initial contact, with the arm against the body is to push the player away. So what we’re looking for, arm against the body on contact and then arm pushing away after contact. All of that is perfectly legal.”

DID YOU KNOW? Wayne Barnes was once voted the third most-hated man in New Zealand after his failure to spot a France forward pass that helped dump the All Blacks out of the 2007 World Cup.

"I’ve been on the field with some of the great captains, John Smit, Sam Warburton and Richie McCaw," said Barnes.

"Richie always had the knack of asking the right question at the right time, sometimes it felt like I was losing a little bit of control.

"Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t talk a lot on the field. He knew the law book inside out and so when he asked a question, he often had a point."

DID YOU KNOW? His other sporting passion is flying and he was made an honorary Squadron Leader in the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 2010

“I was always petrified of Martin Johnson because he was coming to the end of his career when I started in the Premiership." said Barnes.

“2003 was my first [season] and obviously that was towards the end of his career and I remember I had to sin-bin him once and I actually apologised as I did it.

“I said ‘I’m very sorry I have to do this’ because he’s such a big personality. I guess he was always someone who scared me witless!”

DID YOU KNOW? he comes from a sporting family. His great-grandfather was a wrestler

"He always made me smile as he made me look athletic when we were on the same pitch. However, the humorous players always keep you on your toes and if they get opportunity to pick you up on a slight faux pas, they will.

"I once mentioned to Andy Goode that him and his team mates were all appealing for far too many decisions and told him that it sounded like there were 15 referees on the pitch. “And you’re not even in the top 10” was his reply."

DID YOU KNOW? Goode had an 18-year professional career playing over 400 games and scoring over 4,000 points