The “New Zealand Herald” newspaper based in Auckland said the foam of the hotel seat had been sewn or glued back together to hide the spy agency-type device in a “meticulous act” that would have required “significant” time.
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It is unclear whether police will be called in but the hotel has launched its own investigation.
The All Blacks suspected their team rooms were bugged during last year’s Rugby World Cup in England but did not have the equipment necessary to detect listening devices.
He later told reporters that NZR had also informed the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) about the discovery and they were just as shocked as their trans-Tasman counterparts.
“This test match will be another stepping stone in the re-establishment of this group on the worldwide stage and we know that Australia will throw everything at us, which is what test rugby is all about”, New Zealand coach Steve Hansen said.
The foam of the seat appeared to be deliberately and carefully cut and then sewn or glued back together to make the device nearly undetectable, the New Zealand Herald claimed.
It was reportedly planted inside a chair and discovered during a routine sweep for bugs ahead of the team’s Bledisloe Cup game against Australia today.
The All Blacks have won the Cup 43 times while the Wallabies have won 12 times.
He told Sportsmail: “It is a great challenge and it’s exciting to play them at home, but we know we have a job to do”.
Coach Michael Cheika made a flurry of replacements early in the second half in a bid to spark his team as the All Blacks continued their points rampage.
He said: “Of course (the ARU is not involved)”.
“We are not going to give up – we have another game next week and we will keep pushing and get ready for next week”.
Barrett takes over from Aaron Cruden, who started in the first two of New Zealand’s three tests against Wales in June.
A spokesman for the Intercontinental Sydney Double Bay hotel said management was investigating and hoped to have more information soon. The fifth defeat in that sequence came against New Zealand. “But that’s usually something at the practice venue, videoing training or someone watching and taking notes”.
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“But I’ve never heard of bugging before”. Soon, however, these back-and-forth barrages will conclude and the rugby will get underway, leaving us all with just one question worth asking. “It could have been there another reason”.
