KNIGHTS hooker Danny Buderus yesterday apologised to Newcastle fans and the NRL for his 24-hour foray into rugby union coaching.
However, Super Rugby team the Brumbies vowed they would not stop dipping into the knowledge base of rival codes. There was speculation yesterday that former Canberra Raiders captain Alan Tongue, who retired from the NRL last year, was in the Brumbies' sights as a replacement for Buderus to advise on collision and tackling techniques. But the man who played 220 games for the Green Machine is now an ambassador with the NRL's One Community health and education programs and would be ruled out of contention for the same reason as the Knights legend.
Brumbies head coach Jake White said in a statement he had always admired the cross-code exchange of information. And he was not about to stop looking for other minds to tap. "One thing I've found in Australia is that cross-code sharing and the Australian way of performing on the highest level has been stimulating for me as a professional coach," he said. "It was not the Brumbies' intentions to cause any harm or disruption to the NRL. I admire Danny's skill set and his professionalism and the Brumbies were excited by the thought of involving him in our program."
Buderus, who had been cleared by the Knights to take up a five-day consultancy, said he meant no offence.
"I wish to apologise to the NRL, the Knights, their stakeholders and fans for any offence I caused by accepting a pre-season coaching experience with the Brumbies," he said.
"I hope to one day become an NRL coach and being in the final year of my football career, I thought the opportunity to work with the Brumbies would broaden my knowledge of coaching."
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