For rent: Big house, with All Black chef

Ron Cribb. Photo / Supplied

Having a former All Black on hand to barbecue the sausages and talk rugby sounds like the ideal sweetener to entice visitors to rent your $4000-a-week house during next year's Rugby World Cup. It would be, too - only someone neglected to tell the All Black.

The entrepreneurial owners of one property at Dairy Flat, North Auckland, were until yesterday advertising their four-bedroom property on RWC accommodation website stay2011.com.

And just in case the fully-furnished bungalow's six-person hot tub, MySky and 56" television weren't enough, former All Black No 8 Ron Cribb would be available to barbecue the sausages and "spend an evening with you when you rent our awesome house".

The house is available from September 1 to December 31, 2011.

Cribb, 33, played 15 tests for the All Blacks. His last international was in September 2001.

He is now a real estate agent on the North Shore, having returned to New Zealand following a lengthy stint playing club rugby in Japan and Italy.

But Cribb seemed to know little of his barbecuing obligations when contacted by the Weekend Herald yesterday.

"It's really only just been brought to my attention. I only found out this morning."

Cribb said he had been contacted by a third party about the website, and while he thought he "might have an idea" who was responsible for offering his services, he was saying little.

"I don't have any details on it whatsoever. I have just been given a telephone call about it this morning.

"It completely confused me. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about."

Cribb said yesterday afternoon he had "to make a few phone calls and sort it out".

"I will get to the bottom of it."

It has been a torrid few weeks for people looking to rent their homes during next year's tournament - and making exaggerated claims to clinch a deal. A Howick home was initially advertised as being 20 minutes from downtown Auckland, while a Te Atatu Peninsula property was being marketed as 12 minutes from the CBD.