SYDNEY (AFP) - Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says the dramatic mid-season sacking of Test winger Lote Tuqiri adversely affected the team and may have contributed to their poor Tri-Nations tournament, reports said on Monday.

The Australian Rugby Union tore up Tuqiri's multi-million-dollar contract in July for off-field misconduct and the dual rugby international is still exploring his playing options.

The Wallabies beat the Barbarians, Italy (twice) and France in their opening internationals of the season, but after Tuqiri's sacking Australia went on to win just one of six internationals in the Tri-Nations.

Deans, who is preparing the Wallabies for their Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand in Tokyo on Saturday, said the Tuqiri dumping affected the "chemistry" of the team.

"There's no doubt some of those elements add to the challenge," Deans told The Australian newspaper.

"It affects the chemistry. There's a lot of long-standing connections in the group with Lote, myself included.

"I enjoyed the man. If we had had the ability to avert it (Tuqiri's sacking), we clearly would have chosen to not have to deal with that, but that's the way it is.

"It's part of it. It's part of the challenge."

The Australian said Tuqiri's sacking may have also contributed to fly-half Matt Giteau's form slump in the Tri-Nations.

Giteau and Tuqiri had been national teammates for seven years and became close friends, the newspaper said.

Deans believed Giteau, who won the prestigious John Eales Medal, which was determined by player votes just before the team embarked on the tour of Japan and Europe, was now over his disappointment at losing the team vice-captaincy.

"He has been fantastic," Deans said. "He is training very well. He is training as well as he ever has.

"He was asked a very straightforward question (at a press conference) would he have liked the vice-captaincy? And he said yes.

"Well, there's no harm in that. He was just stating the way it is. And as he said, everyone likes the endorsement, so to speak.

"We made a decision based on our reasons which have been well communicated and we don't believe it would be in Matt's best interest to be burdened with that.

"We expect leadership of everybody. He is a critical member. He is possibly the most important member of our group.

"There's nothing wrong with him expressing the fact that he would have liked it. No problem."