Sport

Aussie ex-coach sues

November 25, 2009 Edition 1

SYDNEY: Ex-Wallabies coach John Connolly is suing the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and its chief for $1 million (R7.5 million over an email which he claims damaged his career.

Connolly says ARU chief executive John O'Neill urged top officials to shun him after Australia's 2007 World Cup exit, and blames the email for his failure to land high-level work.

In the February 2008 message, O'Neill accused Connolly of spreading "evil and malicious propaganda", reports said, citing documents lodged at Brisbane's Supreme Court.

O'Neill was responding to what he called a "very inaccurate and hurtful" newspaper article which he suspected used Connolly as a source, the report said. - Sapa-AFP