WELLINGTON — Former All Blacks coach Graham Henry has revealed he suspected possible match-fixing in the All Blacks shock 2007 World Cup loss to France but his plea for an investigation was rejected. Henry's suspicions are revealed in advance excerpts from his soon-to-be released biography “Graham Henry: Final Word”. In the book, he tells how he “briefly contemplated match-fixing as the only logical explanation” for the upset 20-18 loss to France in the 2007 World Cup quarterfinals, Fairfax Media reported Sunday. Henry, who stepped down as All Blacks coach after guiding the team to win the 2011 World Cup, said he was stunned by the lopsided penalty count which heavily favored France. He analyzed video of the game and in a report to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) he urged it to “pressure the International Rugby Board to institute an inquiry”. According to the biography, he believed the video “would confirm that referee Wayne Barnes and his touch judges, Jonathan Kaplan from South Africa and Tony Spreadbury from England, hadn't exactly covered themselves in glory at the Millennium Stadium, that they had missed an obvious forward pass when France scored its match-winning try - a pass so forward everyone in the stadium had witnessed it except the referee - and that Barnes had been pretty lenient on the French at the breakdowns, probably costing the All Blacks the game”. The video contained statistical breakdowns that showed the All Blacks had an overwhelming 73 per cent territorial advantage, won 166 rucks to 42 and made only 73 tackles compared with France's 331. The NZRU chose not to seek an investigation and Henry felt it was “incomprehensible” the International Rugby Board did not have strategies in place to investigate bizarre matches. Biography author and veteran New Zealand rugby writer Bob Howitt wrote: “He knew if a comparable situation had occurred in other sports, it would be investigated. “But there existed a blissful purity about rugby, or at least that's how everyone wanted to perceive it. It wasn't politically correct to even suggest the match officials might have favored one team.” The All Blacks had been hot favorites to go through and win the tournament, and Henry told Radio Sport that something didn't feel right about the shock loss to France. “I've been involved in 140 test matches and 20 years of coaching at provincial level or the level above and 12 years of coaching international rugby and I've never been involved in a game that was like this game,” he said. Sharks-Chiefs showdown The Coastal Sharks cast travel fatigue aside and the Waikato Chiefs refused to bow to Super rugby's glamor unit to set up an unlikely showdown in the 2012 final in Hamilton next weekend. The Sharks withstood a stoppage-time onslaught to defeat the Western Stormers 26-19 in an all-South African semifinal at Newlands Saturday, and face another arduous travel schedule for their date with the Chiefs. The Chiefs clung to a 20-17 lead to beat the All Blacks-laden Canterbury Crusaders. — Agencies
