Just as the All Blacks believe they should have been awarded a legion of penalties in the 2007 quarterfinal, the French are convinced they should have been kicking for goal several times in the last quarter of the last World Cup final.
The bitterness in France has not resided much in the last four years. The perception of Joubert being under Richie McCaw's spell hasn't been broken yet. For France, albeit a nation prone to conspiracy theories and wild paranoia, Joubert committed the greatest sin of all at Eden Park in 2011.
He failed to give the French a fair go and to have put in in charge of this coming encounter would have angered and frustrated a nation that hardly needs much to tip them over the edge as it is. A great night could easily have become a volatile and spoiled night of Joubert had been put in charge. And why put a referee under extra pressure?
This question, of course, would be equally valid had Barnes been given the game. The temptation to award him the fixture would have no doubt been strong.
He would be the last piece of the jigsaw - allow for this game to be an exact replica of the one eight years ago.
The All Blacks wouldn't have minded him being in charge. As much as they have changed, so too has Barnes. His officious style remains but he actually referees these days and not too badly either.
The All Blacks have had him enough now to know his style and he wouldn't have been a factor to them.
But he would of course have been a great story to everyone else and the drama, tension and interest his appointment would have created was surely something World Rugby were piqued by?
With England out, the tournament needs new hooks and ways to keep the host audience engaged. This would have been a stick of dynamite in that regard.
But it was rejected and that in itself is reassuring because it means that World Rugby have focused on making the right appointment for the players and the contest and not to artificially create interest.
That was arguably the mistake they made eight years ago with Barnes. He was just 28 at the time and horribly inexperienced. He wasn't the right appointment for the Cardiff clash but he as the aspiring face of young referees and maybe World Rugby wanted to put him on the biggest stage to encourage others to go down the same track and take up refereeing.
Barnes, as much as anyone, turned 2007 into the landmark event it has become, and while everyone knows the All Blacks were the losers on the night, so too was rugby. The contest deserved an experienced and proven referee - a chance to be remembered for what the players did and not the bloke with the whistle.
In Owens, that's what they have this time.
