Haden's role was called into question after he accused New Zealand's most successful Super 14 franchise, the Crusaders, of employing a race-based player selection policy and referring to Polynesians as "darkies".
The former All Black's claims, during a debate on a TV sports show, that the Crusaders had a policy of selecting no more than three Polynesian players caused uproar. Haden apologised on Sunday, a move which McCully admitted saved his post.