04 WAYNE BARNES FREEZES
The All Blacks versus France was probably the biggest clash of the 2007 World Cup quarterfinal line-up.
New Zealand were the tournament favourites and France, although the game was being played in Cardi , were the hosts. There was also the history between the two, which had been a touch volatile and unpredictable.
So it was a massive surprise when World Rugby announced that 28-year-old Englishman Wayne Barnes was going to referee that game. It was a huge contest and Barnes, while he was a promising referee, had little experience.
The game was high in intensity and the pressure huge. As the contest ebbed and flowed, it became apparent Barnes was struggling. In the second half, he didn’t award the All Blacks a single penalty despite the fact New Zealand had France under siege.
His bigger sin, however, was that he failed to see a forward pass in the build-up to France’s game-winning try. It was kind of hard to miss as it went a full two metres forward, but Barnes gave the try anyway and made himself New Zealand’s public enemy number one.
“I don’t blame Barnes, but I do blame the people who appointed the most inexperienced referee on the roster to a RWC quarterfinal between the hosts and the favourites,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw would write in his biography.
“I thought both teams deserved a referee with experience. My beef isn’t with Barnes so much as with his inexperience. This was Barnes’ biggest game by far. On the big stage, an inexperienced referee is likely to become so afraid of making a mistake that he stops making any decisions at all.
“By the end of it, I thought Barnes was frozen with fear and wouldn’t make any big calls.”