All Blacks hotel bug: NZ team, betting syndicates ruled out

Coach Steve Hansen and captain Kieran Read (Getty)
Coach Steve Hansen and captain Kieran Read (Getty)

Just who bugged the All Blacks' dressing room ahead of the first Bledisloe Cup match remains a mystery.

Police in Australia say it wasn't planted by a betting syndicate hoping for an edge, and the All Blacks themselves have also been ruled out, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The bug was found in mid-August in one of the team's room at the Sydney InterContinental hotel. It had been planted in a chair which had been deliberately cut to allow it to fit, and then sewn and glued back together to make it undetectable.

The room where the device was found had been marked as private and was inaccessible to anybody other than players or management, meaning the perpetrator must have known in advance where the All Blacks would be based.

Reports suggest the device's battery only had enough power to last three days, and as it was operational when found the All Blacks were the likely target, not a previous occupant of the room.

The investigation is ongoing, and police have not revealed whether they have any suspects in mind or what charges might follow.

Police showed up at the Australian Rugby Union's headquarters in St Leonard's last weekend, and questioned managers.

There were rumours one of the All Blacks planted the device as a prank. The side's management took five days to report the bug, which coach Steve Hansen later admitted was a mistake.

The Australian cricket side are due to stay at the Sydney InterContinental soon, but told the Daily Telegraph they weren't worried about being spied on.

"We have checked with them since as part of confirming summer plans and we are confident the hotel's security will be absolutely fine," a Cricket Australia spokesman told the paper.

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