A turbulent week in New Zealand rugby has got even rockier after All Blacks forward Akira Ioane and commentator Justin Marshall were involved in a late night altercation.
Video of the incident has circulated widely on social media and it appears to have been filmed in the wake of New Zealand’s historic series loss to Ireland in Wellington on Saturday.
The footage shows Ioane arguing with Test great Justin Marshall as All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke gets in between the pair in a bid to de-escalate the situation.
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NZ Rugby told the NZ Herald that it was aware of the video and released a statement.
“Our security was managing the group in a separate area at the venue,” it said.
“We have contacted venue staff and spoken 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.
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“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.”
Marshall, a former All Blacks captain who now works for Sky Sport, was highly critical of the team’s performance in the 2-1 series loss.
“There are players that are in that team that probably shouldn’t be there,” Marshall said.
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“Now that’s a big statement I know, but I (wasn’t) utterly convinced about the players that were put in that side and that Ian Foster was trusting the All Blacks to go out there and win us a Test series against Ireland and therefore move on and win us a World Cup.”
“There are lots of equations in the mix, like what the hell is Caleb Clarke doing there if his hamstring was never going to be right for the series?
“There’s no point in having a guy there (that isn’t fit to play). They didn’t need to name players that they couldn’t use. Why did they do that?”
Despite the angst, New Zealand media is reporting that All Blacks coach Ian Foster is likely to keep his job as the team prepares for its Rugby Championship opener against the world champion Springboks on August 7.
Foster met with Mark Robinson on Tuesday after the NZR chief executive vowed to review the “unacceptable” series defeat.
However, there could be significant changes to Foster’s staff, with former Ireland coach and All Blacks selector Joe Schmidt potentially coming on board in a caretaker type role.
Ireland celebrate rugby history
Bringing Schmidt in over the heads of assistants such as John Plumtree, Scott McLeod, Greg Feek and Brad Mooar appears to be a no-brainer, given his record of success with Ireland, a team he nurtured to become consistently better than the All Blacks.
But Kiwis pining for champion Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, who refused to comment on Tuesday, to be handed the job are likely to be disappointed.
Australia opens its Rugby Championship campaign against Argentina on August 7.
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