The ongoing saga surrounding the All Blacks over a recording device found hidden in their conference room last year has taken another twist after team manager Darren Shand told police ‘it was Michael Cheika.’
Shand went on to suggest the the Australian was desperate to avenge years of torment at the hands of the All Blacks, The Daily Telegraph reported.
‘The Wallabies haven’t beaten us in over a decade and (Cheika’s) job is on the line,’ he told police.
The incident in question occurred five days before the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney last year as NSW Police launched an investigation after the All Blacks claimed they found a ‘listening device’.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika (pictured) has been dragged into the ongoing saga surrounding a listening device found in an All Blacks conference room last year, as NZ team manager Darren Shand initially told police it was the Australian responsible
Darren Shand (pictured) gave evidence via video link from New Zealand and told the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday that he and security consultant Adrian Gard stared at the listening device in disbelief
They claimed the bug was hidden inside a chair in the team’s meeting room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay.
The allegation came during the police’s initial inquest but were contained, according to sources who have seen the documents.
The revealed comments come in stark contrast to what All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said in a press conference on Thursday.
Hansen revealed an encounter with Cheika in Japan earlier in the year, reassured the Wallabies coach he wasn’t a suspect among the All Blacks.
‘We had a chat in Japan and I made it clear to him that we didn’t highlight them,’ Hansen said.
It is unknown as to whether Hansen knew about Shand’s comments made to the police.
Daily Mail Australia have contacted the All Blacks for comment.
News of the bug broke through a New Zealand journalist the same day of the Sydney leg of the 2016 Bledisloe Cup, a fixture the All Blacks comprehensively won 42-8.
The side had been staying at the InterContinental Hotel in Double Bay when Gard raised the alarm bells when finding a recording device inside one of the hotel’s chairs in a meeting room
The All Blacks (pictured here at the 2017 Bledisloe Cup) were preparing for the 2016 Bledisloe Cup and were due to play Australia just days after the bug was found
At the time, Cheika was infuriated with the claims as the bad blood between the two sides worsened.
The 50-year-old suggested the All Blacks ‘had crossed a line’ by insinuating the Wallabies were involved.
The police investigation cleared the Australian national team of any wrongdoing and instead charged the All Blacks’ security manager Adrian Gard with public mischief and operating without a security licence.
On Friday, he was charged for his failure to have a licence but was cleared of his public mischief charge at the Downing Centre Local Court.
The decision has added to the mystery as to who planted the bug, which Gard claims he found in the fabric of an armchair after checking the room on August 15 last year.
The All Blacks failed to inform police until five days later.
According to police documents, it was Hansen who revealed the news of the bug discovery to a New Zealand based journalist on August 16 but believed his comments were off the record.
On Friday Adrian Gard (pictured) was charged for his failure to have a security licence but was cleared of his public mischief charge at the Downing Centre Local Court, clearing him of any wrongdoing in relation to the bug