The Right Reverend Graham Henry's crass comment that match-fixing may have been to blame for the All Blacks' defeat to France in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final does his credibility, and that of New Zealand rugby, no favours whatsoever. Henry's suspicions, apparently revealed in a forthcoming biography, do nothing more than highlight a deep-seated arrogance and ignore the basic facts that New Zealand, with a plethora of possession that day, were guilty of poor execution and terrible decision-making, both on and off the pitch (Henry’s decisions to field a palpably unfit Dan Carter and to select Mils Muliaina out of position being just two examples).
The comments are clearly designed to ensure that the biography sells like hot cakes but, whilst match referee Wayne Barnes and his team may have made errors on the day, so did New Zealand and for Henry to seek to impugn the integrity of the match officials in such a way to deflect attention away from his own failings is nothing short of disgraceful.
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