adminWELLINGTON. — All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has defended their decision to stay at the same Sydney hotel where they reported the discovery of a listening device in the team meeting room ahead of last year’s rugby Test match against Australia.
Hansen’s comments came as Adrian Gard, a security consultant used by the All Blacks, faced a court hearing in Sydney yesterday on a charge of public mischief involving the discovery of the device at the Intercontinental hotel at Double Bay last August.
Police have alleged Gard made a false claim by reporting the bug had been found.
Gard, who was arrested in February, pleaded not guilty to the charge in March.
The All Blacks will stay at the hotel next week in the leadup to the opening match of the Rugby Championship against Australia and Hansen shrugged off reporters’ questions about the decision.
“It’s a good hotel,” he told a media conference in Christchurch yesterday after naming his 33-man squad for the Rugby Championship. — Reuters.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter