Rugby: Double bluff or triple whammy

Graham Henry holds his photographed 2010 training notes. Photo / Getty Images

All Black coach Graham Henry has taken his side through 93 tests but almost again gave the Aussies a sneak look at plans to beat them yesterday.

Henry answered questions with a copy of his All Black playbook lying across his lap, but unlike last year in Melbourne when a sharp photographer snapped his scribbles, it almost went unnoticed yesterday.

The Australian newspaper published diagrams of moves they insisted the All Blacks would use in the Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne last year. They claimed the plans were designed to target the tackling techniques of Matt Giteau and James O'Connor.

The photos were taken at an open training session in Melbourne and were published, even though there is an unwritten rule about the media not divulging "secret" information. Those lines are blurred as the media and international coaches debate issues like privacy and patriotism.

After last year's "Rugbygate" assistant All Black coach Steve Hansen claimed the diagrams were all about their defensive plans to hold the Wallabies and they would not change.

However, the All Blacks demanded and received an apology from the media involved. It was surprising to see Henry and his diagrams on such public display again yesterday, especially on the eve of the opening Bledisloe Cup test against the Dirty Diggers and Deans. Double bluff, triple whammy or just plain forgetfulness?

Spying and the Ockers is nothing new. The All Blacks hired security guards to patrol their Sydney training ground in 2009 and the year before Hansen accused a Brisbane television crew of filming a private session and passing that footage to the Wallabies.