An unimpressed Michael Cheika has slammed the "disingenuous" motives of an English photographer who revealed the Wallabies' tactics on the eve of the Rugby World Cup final.
But the canny coach insists there's no use crying over the incident and, while joking that he'll now cancel his subscriptions to the English newspaper responsible, said it shouldn't overshadow the All Blacks' historic achievements.
The Wallabies camp was fuming on the eve of the match when photographs taken during the team's captain's run zoomed in on sheets of paper being held by Cheika and scrum guru Mario Ledesma.
The information gleaned was hardly explosive - with key points noting Dan Carter's preference of running left to right, the need to pressure Kieran Read from the kick off and to expose wingers Nehe Milner-Skudder and Julian Savea with high balls.
But Cheika was left disappointed nonetheless, having invited the media in to watch their final training session before the biggest match of his coaching career.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"What was in (the tactics), it's no biggie. It's not like there were any super tactics or anything like that," Cheika said.
"It is a little bit disingenuous, you let that situation in where you open yourself up and someone focuses on that.
"But that's the way it goes. What do you do? There's nothing to cry about.
"I think I'll cancel my subscription to The Daily Mail. I don't even know if I've got one."
It wasn't the only spying controversy to hit the Wallabies during the World Cup, with a photographer reportedly chased from the team's training base in Bath before the tournament kicked off.
