Wayne Barnes is coming home on Sunday (30th April) – and he can’t wait.

The international rugby referee, who lives in Twickenham and jets all over the world in his sporting profession, has never forgotten his Forest of Dean roots.

Born in Bream 38 years ago, Barnes will be at Lydney Rugby Club on Sunday for a charity match between a Wayne Barnes Invitational XV and a Forest Invitational XV.

“It’s where I’m from,” he said. “It’s where I grew up. My family still live there and my wife Polly’s family still live there as well.

“It’s where I learned my rugby. I started playing with Bream under-8s and went right through with them. It’s where my roots are and I’m very proud of them.”

Much as Barnes will be welcomed back with open arms by the Forest faithful on Sunday – organisers are hoping for a crowd of more than 1,000 at Regentsholme – he knows he won’t be the main attraction.

That’s because England head coach Eddie Jones will be on the touchline after agreeing to ‘coach’ Barnes’ team of all stars.

Jones was only too happy to offer his support for a game that will raise money for Breast Cancer Now.

“I’m massively delighted that he’ll be there,” said Barnes, a practising barrister who specialises in bribery, corruption and money-laundering.

“He said he really wanted to support the game and the charity.”

So what will Jones’ role be?

“He’ll do a bit of training with us before the game,” said Barnes.

And what about during the game?

“I’m sure he’ll have a few words of advice,” chuckled Barnes. “If I know Eddie I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s shouting out the orders on the touchline!”

This is the fourth time that the match has been played and was the brainchild of Barnes’ schoolboy friend Dave Emery, who now coaches Lydney 2nds.

Barnes’ mother-in-law, Debbie Broderick, died from breast cancer and a fund set up in her memory has raised almost £60,000.

Barnes hopes Sunday’s game will realise at least another £5,000 but added “£10,000 would be a good target”.

The presence of Jones as well as a host of other high profile rugby names will help him towards that goal.

“It just goes to show what a special sport rugby is,” Barnes said. “Referees, coaches and players all work very closely together and there are very few sports where you get current and ex-players as well as referees all coming together like this.

“It speaks volumes for the sport.

“Eddie will raise the profile of the game and hopefully we’ll get more people through the gate. It will help raise the profile of the charity as well. It’s something that’s very close to Polly’s and my heart as it is to many people – 50,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.”

Polly’s 60-year-old dad, Paul Broderick, a former footballer with Reading, will drop-kick the ball to start the game and Barnes joked: “We have to get him off the pitch pretty quick after that.”

It will be a big family affair because Barnes’ parents will also be there along with his two-year-old daughter Juno and five-month-old son Beau.

The Forest Invitational XV has been organised by Emery – they played rugby in the same side at Whitecross School in Lydney – and Emery is looking to make it a hat-trick of wins after losing the first game.

It is the only game Barnes plays these days after his playing career was cut short by injury.

He says he enjoys “swapping his whistle for his studs” but admits that he is “probably a better referee than player”.

“If I could have played at the level I now referee that is what I would choose,” he said. “Everyone wants to pull on the England shirt and play rugby all over the world.

“But refereeing is not a bad second choice. I’ve refereed at the top grounds – Twickenham, Cardiff, Eden Park – and you get a close up view of everything that’s going on. And it’s given me the chance to meet some great people who I’ve got to know quite well.”

Many of those friends will be at Lydney on Sunday including England coach Rory Teague, ex-England and Bristol scrum-half Shaun Perry, Harlequins scrum-half Karl Dickson, former Gloucester prop Nick Wood, ex-Bath and England prop Duncan Bell, former Gloucester and Wales flanker Kingsley Jones, ex-Wales and Harlequins prop Ceri Jones and an array of the current Premiership referees.

The match kicks off at 2pm but the entertainment starts at 11am when a combined Lydney under-13 and under-15 girls’ team take on Kingswood from Bristol.

A Lydney under-12 and under-13 boys’ team will play Llandaff at noon and at 1pm Lydney’s under-10s tackle Avonmouth.

The fun doesn’t end there because during half-time of the main match, Lydney’s under-8s will play two seven-minute halves against Thornbury and the youngsters had better behave themselves because the game will be refereed by a certain Mr Barnes.

The post-match entertainment includes half-a-dozen bands playing on an outdoor stage until 9pm and there will be another band playing in the clubhouse after 9pm.

Tickets for the whole day cost £6 and include a raffle ticket, the prize for which is two tickets for the Premiership final at Twickenham. Barnes will also conduct an auction at about 5pm and lots will include a signed England 6 Nations shirt, signed Gloucester and Bath shirts and tickets to an England international.

Forest invitational squad: Aden Peacey (Lydney), Ben Lewis (Berry Hill), Max Parry (Bream), Ian Morgan (Berry Hill), Jimmy Roberts (Lydney), James Bashford (Stroud), Jim McMahon (Cheltenham Saracens), Mark Lee (Bream), Andy Cooper (Bream), Ross Webb (Newent), Rob Newton (Lydney), Brett Scriven (Lydney), Matt Taylor (Cheltenham), Liam Brady (Bream), Dan Parry (Cinderford), James Cooper (Cinderford), Pete Pritchard (Bream), Tom Webb (Newent), Chris Holder (Lydney), Paul Hunt (Berry Hill), Chris Rawlings (Drybrook), Mitch Baldwin (Lydney), Josh Hannam (Lydney), Tai Lakibuka (Lydney), Jack O’Connell (Cinderford), Nicky Gait, John Barker (Lydney), Curt Russell (Lydney), Chris Dean (Old Pats), Paul Scott (Lydney).

Music line-up: The Funky Mojos featuring Miss Fusion; 70s disco funk band NFA; techno punk act Tequila Mockingbird; rock band Rusty Nail (covers and own music); Robert Zimmerman; Dylan, Bob Dylan and his electric show band Baddoos 5 (covers).

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Breast Cancer Now should visit https://inmemory.breastcancernow.org/debbie-broderick