Rugby Australia has denied it's investigating allegations that Wallaby players are under investigation for match-fixing several years ago.
The Sydney Morning Herald claims the actions of three players in the national rugby team - all of whom are still involved with the game in Australia - have come under scrutiny during a match that the Wallabies were strongly favoured to win.
They eventually lost the game after a variety of "strange incidents" that included forward passes, missed tackle and knock-ons.
On Friday, Rugby Australia issued a statement, claiming no such enquiry was taking place.
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"Rugby Australia wishes to confirm it has seen no evidence in regards to inappropriate betting activity or match-fixing, and has no record of any such investigation occurring in the past," it said.
"Rugby Australia takes any allegation of match-fixing very seriously and would always thoroughly investigate should any person or entity ever provide information to the integrity unity."
The SMH report insists Australian rugby officials are also investigating links between players and identities within the horse-racing and betting industries. One player with financial issues was identified as the "ring leader".
Previous investigations allegedly showed it was impossible to detect betting fixes among Australian agencies, because many were carried out off-shore - including New Zealand - to cover tracks.
"This issue has to again be looked into," an Australian rugby official reportedly told SMH. "Our suspicions were originally raised due to the very strange mistakes made by usually reliable Australian players during that game.
"Some errors are glaring. It's like watching Tiger Woods miss a two-inch putt, over and over again."
At the time, several Wallaby players were apparently alarmed at their teammates' behaviour, after "sordid" late-night incidents.
Newshub.
