All Blacks star Akira Ioane and New Zealand legend-turned-pundit Justin Marshall have been in contact with each other after footage of their late-night confrontation in the wake of the series defeat to Ireland went viral.
Footage emerged following last weekend's series decider in Wellington which showed back-rower Ioane, who is named in the 36-man New Zealand squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship, and 81-Test All Black Marshall exchanging words in a public disagreement outside a nightclub, with Ioane being held back by numerous people including team-mates Angus Ta’avao, Braydon Ennor and David Havili while Marshall was cordoned off and told to leave by Caleb Clarke and George Bower.
Now, on the eve of New Zealand's chance to redeem themselves when they face South Africa on August 6, head coach Ian Foster has spoken of his disappointment over the incident and revealed there has been contact among both parties.
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After naming his squad, he confirmed Ioane and Marshall have since spoken to each other, telling the media : "Reality is it’s disappointing. It’s disappointing that two people were mouthing off a little bit at each other. I wish it hadn’t happened.
“Yes, I’ve talked to both people involved, and I know they’ve had a conversation with each other and there’s no issues going forward. I’m also not overly impressed that people think they should film that stuff and spread it, because two people arguing in a pub, I don’t think, [is] as big an issue as people make it.”
It comes after New Zealand Rugby [NZR] issued a statement addressing the incident earlier in this week, saying players and security present during the incident had been consulted.
“Our security was managing the group in a separate area at the venue,” NZR said in its statement. “We have contacted venue staff and spoke at length with players and security staff, who recall words being exchanged with another individual as they were leaving. Our security proceeded to escort our players to their transport.
“Behaving responsibly is one of the core values in our team environment. The group were working to meet their curfew and when faced with a tricky situation, they did what they could to ensure everyone departed safely at the appropriate time.”
As for Marshall, Sky have come out backing their man. Sky TV boss Chris Major told the New Zealand Herald: "We're obviously aware that Justin and Akira exchanged words on Saturday night. It's been covered in the media in recent days and we have no further comment to make on it.
"Justin is part of our Sky team travelling to South Africa to cover the two Tests, and we're looking forward to delivering great coverage and commentary for our customers on the 7th and 14th of August."
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