The All Blacks, preparing to leave Sydney in the wake of their record 42-8 victory over Australia and "Spygate" scandal, both of which have made headlines around the world, have been asked today whether they are "paranoid" for taking extra security arrangements.
The question came from an Australian journalist ata press conference at the All Blacks' hotel where several days ago a sophisticated listening device was found hidden in a chair in the team's meeting room.
The device was found in a routine security sweep by the All Blacks, and suggests the team and management are anything but paranoid, a notion reinforced by assistant coach Ian Foster.
"I'm interested you used the word paranoia, because I think you can kick that word for touch," Foster said. "All teams are protective of the way they want to go about things and so that's just something we've done occasionally for obvious reasons.
"It's shocked everyone. We understand a few mixed emotions and it's not great for the game but it's happened and it's out of our hands now and we'll move forward."
The New South Wales police are looking into who planted the listening device, and with the All Blacks hosting the Wallabies in Wellington this week for the second Bledisloe Cup test, the issue appears set to rumble on.
Asked whether the team would go through the same security measures in Wellington, Foster replied: "We'll let you know if we do."
