Rugby: Du'Plessis Kirifi addresses lockdown breach as Wellington eye Bay of Plenty clash

Du'Plessis Kirifi. Photo / Photosport

Wellington captain Du'Plessis Kirifi admits he learned a valuable lesson during level 4 lockdown, after he was caught breaching protocols in Wellington.

The 24-year-old and Silver Ferns development netballer Mila Reuelu-Buchanan were fined by police for hosting and attending parties in the Wellington region during Covid-19 level 4 last month.

When the NPC resumed from its enforced hiatus two weeks ago, Kirifi was stripped of his captaincy when the Lions took on Taranaki in Inglewood as punishment.

Today, Kirifi addressed the situation and said he was "probably a little complacent".

"I completely take that on the chin. Not necessarily thinking we're above the law, but just not thinking really. Just a bit stupid – young and dumb – but that's not an excuse," Kirifi said.

"I learned a pretty valuable lesson on staying in the clear and making sure you can't be caught out. Whether you are caught out or not, it's easy to sleep at night when you know you've done nothing wrong.

"We took it on the chin. A lot of people have opinions; it's good that people have opinions, it shows that they care. That's the bottom line, but it's just making sure we don't carry too much of that weight and take a lot of that stuff on with us. Our lives go on. We paid the price of that.

"We know what we did wrong but we're moving on."

While stripped of the captaincy for the match against Taranaki, he was still available for selection and featured in the 32-26 loss. He was reinstated as captain last weekend for Wellington's clash with Hawke's Bay, which Hawke's Bay won 31-28.

Wellington return to action on Saturday against Bay of Plenty in Rotorua.