Cheika doesn’t expect apology over bugging claim

Editor

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika does not expect an apology from New Zealand Rugby over inference that someone from his team placed a listening device in the All Blacks’ hotel last year.

Cheika admitted to being surprised that New South Wales police have charged the transgressor, a 51-year-old man named Adrian Gard, who was working as a security consultant for the All Blacks.

The incident took place in the build-up to the trans-Tasman rivals’ Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney and led to a war of words between Cheika and All Blacks boss Steve Hansen.

This after the revelation of the listening device was only made on the morning of the Test – which the All Blacks won 42-8 – despite it being discovered by the New Zealand Rugby Union at the beginning of that week.

Cheika admitted to being surprised that New South Wales police have charged the transgressor, a 51-year-old man named Adrian Gard, who was working as a security consultant for the All Blacks.

Australia Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver said on Tuesday he was disappointed that the story broke on the morning of such an important match, while Hansen said the charge is “bizarre and unbelievable”.

When asked whether an apology would suffice, Cheika told Stuff: “Nah, I’m not expecting anything, I don’t think that’s necessary. They made a call.

“They made their play and the police have shown that to be a different outcome to what maybe that inference was but I don’t expect anything like an apology.

“I’d forgotten about it really and then it came up. I was surprised they (police) were still onto it but there was an investigation to be had and they did their business and came up with that solution and that outcome.

“I knew one thing was definite… the inference was that we were involved, I know that was ridiculous. I knew that would be in the final outcome.”

Gard, who has worked as a security consultant for the All Blacks for seversl years, will appear in a Sydney court on March 21.

Cheika said it was reassuring to know that no one from his camp had anything to do with the incident, particularly after police interviewed several staff about the incident at the Australian Rugby Union headquarters.

“It’s not nice to have to answer questions from police and stuff like that, especially when you’ve got absolutely nothing to do with it,” he said.

“I certainly didn’t think that (a charge being laid) would happen. I’m surprised. I’ll be interested to see what happens from here. It’s pretty much water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned and it was what it was at the time and the reactions were real at the time.

“Nothing is going to stick in my mind too long.”