Aaron Smith misconduct hearing concluded

Oct 17 • General News, International • 1311 Views • Comments Off on Aaron Smith misconduct hearing concluded

New Zealand Rugby has today conducted a disciplinary meeting with All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith.

The misconduct proceedings followed revelations of an incident at Christchurch Airport last month, after the All Blacks Test match against South Africa the night before.

The disciplinary matter was heard over two hours by a panel chaired by New Zealand Rugby General Manager Rugby Neil Sorensen.

“It’s important to note that as an employment matter, it is not usual to comment publicly on proceedings. However, both Aaron and his legal representative, and New Zealand Rugby acknowledge that in the circumstances, there is a need to make some public comment,” Sorensen said.

“The misconduct meeting has concluded:

In light of the impact on the reputation of All Blacks jersey and the commercial partners Aaron’s actions amounted to serious misconduct

Aaron Smith will be issued with a formal warning

He will voluntarily stand down from assembling with the All Blacks for this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup Test match

He will forfeit his selection fees and,

He is committed to getting the support he needs to deal with personal issues and to work on his relationship with his partner.

“Aaron presented himself as genuine, honest and incredibly remorseful. We have also taken into account the fact that the very public nature of this incident, has had a significant impact on him personally.

“We accepted that he is genuine about wanting to improve himself and note that he himself has acknowledged he will need the support of his family, friends and Rugby to move forward.

“We also noted that Aaron had already made a very public apology to his partner, friends and family, team mates, his employer, and rugby fans and he had already served a one-week stand down.”

Both parties have agreed that no further comment will be made on this matter.