Wynne Gray's 50 greatest rugby moments: No.25

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw and team-mate Carl Hayman during the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Everyone was stunned after the All Blacks' loss to France in the 2007 RWC quarter-final. The faces of Richie McCaw and Graham Henry remained dazed long after referee Wayne Barnes blew the final whistle.

Henry's confusion morphed into anger then accusation as he called for an investigation into the officiating, then contemplated match-fixing as the only logic for the overwhelming penalty count against the All Blacks.

In his Graham Henry Final Word biography, Henry said his gut-feeling was that Barnes had been lenient on the French at the breakdowns, "probably costing the All Blacks the game".

He felt they should have been penalised 40 times instead of twice. None of the match officials had been sharp and they'd missed an obvious forward pass everyone else saw when France scored their winning try.

Henry's post-game research showed an All Black superiority across the park with 73 per cent territory and 75 per cent possession as they made 73 tackles to France's 331.

Those findings did not explain the All Blacks' inability to convert that domination. They had chances and either muffed them, were repelled or ignored dropped goal chances.

Barnes was a 28-year-old rookie ref at the 2007 RWC who had begun his test career only the year before so his quarter-final promotion was a significant and surprising decision.

"My beef isn't with Barnes so much as with his inexperience," said McCaw. "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."

In the wake of the massive RWC upset, Barnes received internet death threats and widespread personal abuse.

World Rugby said criticism of him was "completely unwarranted" while the tournament refereeing was the highest it had ever been at a World Cup.

"New Zealand losing that game was not all about the forward pass," referees' manager Paddy O'Brien said. "I think it's a disgrace and people have to grow up."