Rugby: Spygate court case to continue after bid to have case thrown out rejected

Adrian Gard, left, with All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. Photo / Brett Phibbs

An All Blacks security guard accused of making up claims about finding a bugging device at the team's Sydney hotel has lost a bid to have the case against him thrown out of court.

Downing Centre Local Court magistrate Jennifer Atkinson rejected a submission on Thursday from Adrian Gard's defence barrister that he had no case to answer on the charge of making a false representation resulting in a police investigation over the bug.

Barrister Anthony Kimmins claimed the prosecution case against Mr Gard was circumstantial and it could not be proved he had made up the story about finding the listening device secreted in a chair in the All Blacks' meeting room at the InterContintental Hotel in Double Bay in August last year.

Mr Kimmins said the fact police were suspicious about Mr Gard's story did not mean he was guilty.

But prosecutor Stephen Dayeian told the court that "the device was never in the chair" and Mr Gard had indeed made it all up.

Detective Sergeant Paul Mangan, officer in charge of the investigation, had earlier told the court Mr Gard was initially treated as a witness but the detective was "suspicious of some of the circumstances".

Questioned by Mr Kimmins, Det Sgt Mangan agreed he was scathing of All Blacks team manager Darren Shand when interviewing him for the first time five days after the bug was found.

Det Sgt Mangan said police were concerned about what had happened to the two chairs which Mr Gard claimed had given abnormal readings during a bug sweep of the team's meeting room in the hotel on August 15 last year.

Mr Shand had previously told the court he saw one of the chairs in Mr Gard's room had been cut open and there was what looked like a listening device inside.

Det Sgt Mangan said the chairs in question had later been left unattended in the hotel for five days before police were called in.

The All Blacks had wanted the investigation into the bug handled internally to avoid the media getting involved.

Det Sgt Mangan said when it came time to charging Mr Gard, one of the police's main concerns about the case was the continuity of evidence involving the chairs.

The maximum penalty for making a false representation resulting in a police investigation is 12 months' jail and a $5500 fine.

The hearing resumes on Friday.