AB coaches call foul on Barnes
AB coaches call foul on Barnes
PlanetRugby, Thursday 15th November 2007
All Black coach Graham Henry and his assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have laid the blame for the side's World Cup quarter-final defeat at the door of English referee Wayne Barnes.
According to the New Zealand Herald, Henry and his assistants produced video evidence of Barnes's blunders in a performance review held behind closed doors at the New Zealand Rugby Union headquarters.
This is the first time that the coaching trio have publicly aired their discontent with Barnes' refereeing in the All Black's 18-20 loss to France. They previously maintained a diplomatic silence on the issue.
The coaches pointed out that Barnes and his assistants had 'missed' 17 errors made by the French team in the second half of the game.
France were not penalised once in the second half.
Henry and his assistants also pointed out that the yellow card awarded to inside centre Luke McAlister had cost them a try, as had a missed call on a clear forward pass.
It was also revealed that Barnes's refereeing had been the main part of the coaches' defence in their drive to hold on to their jobs.
The failure of the All Blacks to attempt a potentially match-winning drop goal in the dying minutes of the game was explained away by the coaches. The side opted to play for a penalty which failed to materialise.
The NZRU review committee will now present to the entire board on Friday all of its findings, which are likely to decide the fate of Henry and his assistants.
This is not the first time that Barnes's refereeing has been questioned by New Zealanders.
