28 Jul 2010

All Blacks deny Bledisloe Cup preparation has compromised

6:28 pm on 28 July 2010

The All Blacks deny their preparation for Saturday night's Beldisloe Cup test agaisnt Australia in Melbourne, has been compromised by newspapers publishing a photograph of their planned tactics.

The photo agency Getty Images took a picture of detailed plans on a sheet of paper held by coach Graham Henry at yesterday's training session.

It's been run in several newspapers and seemingly shows the All Blacks moves from scrums and lineouts.

But All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen claims the moves are Wallaby plays that had been outlined for their own defensive ploys.

Hansen says he was more disappointed by what he claimed was a breach in trust by the photographer and newspapers saying there are unwritten rules about such things.

However he didn't think one photo was going to have much impact on the outcome of the test.

The Wallabies assistant coach Jim Williams dismissed the photo as a non-issue for Australia, who're looking to end a seven-match losing streak against the All Blacks, saying he wouldn't even bother looking at it.