Amid an allegation that the Springboks spied on British & Irish Lions training sessions in 2021, a tier-one nation has sounded the alarm ahead of the 2023 World Cup kick-off on Friday.
According to a report by the Telegraph, a “leading nation” has approached World Rugby to clarify the sanctions for any team that is caught illegally observing another’s training.
The France-based World Cup is expected to be one of the most competitive in the tournament’s history, with defending champions South Africa, world number one Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, England, Scotland and the tournament hosts all realistic challengers for the Webb Ellis Cup.
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A source close to the British & Irish Lions told the Telegraph that there were major concerns that their training sessions were observed by the Springboks during the 2021 series.
The Springboks open their World Cup campaign against Scotland in Marseilles on Sunday, before facing Romania, Tonga and then Ireland on 23 September.
This is not the first time that concerns about spying have been raised at a World Cup.
Eddie Jones, in his previous role as England head coach, claimed that England were spied on while preparing for the 2019 World Cup semi-final clash against New Zealand.
In the build-up to the match, Jones said that England’s security team had become aware of someone using a long-lens camera to film their entire training session from a window of a nearby apartment block. The Australian joked that he had sent a member of England’s staff to spy on the All Blacks.
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