Rieko Ioane performing the haka at the Rugby World Cup. Neighbours of the All Black have complained about the winger and his friends doing a haka at 2am and waking them up. Photo / World Rugby
Rieko Ioane performing the haka at the Rugby World Cup. Neighbours of the All Black have complained about the winger and his friends doing a haka at 2am and waking them up. Photo / World Rugby
Rieko Ioane's Super Rugby boss says he will be staying out of the neighbourhood noise dispute that splayed the All Black across the Herald's front page last week.
Neighbours of the 22-year-old Auckland Blues winger last week made an official complaint directly to NZ Rugby accusing Ioane of noisy late night parties and foul language.
The 29-cap All Blacks and Blues wing lives in a $1.6 million, five-bedroom home on a 341sq m site in the high-density Auckland suburb of Stonefields.
When the story was published last week the Independent Complaints Authority, which acts on behalf of New Zealand Rugby, said they were investigating the report.
The complaint - which the Herald understands alleges behaviour including noisy late-night parties involving both Ioane brothers and others at the property, a 2am haka, yelling, foul language and singing "f*** the neighbours' - was made online in late January.
However, yesterday Blues CEO Andrew Hore told the Herald said they would not be acting on the anonymous complaint referred to them by the New Zealand Rugby Complaints Management Service.
"We consider this to be a private matter and based on the information we have received from discussions that we have undertaken, we will not be taking the matter any further.
"We have taken the opportunity to remind all our players they represent the Blues at all times and they have a role they play in our local community, " Hore said.
The Blues explained in deciding to leave the matter for Ioane to resolve privately they had held a meeting with him in which he provided context of private gatherings at his new home, which included evidence from another neighbour, that supported the player.
Brothers Rieko Ioane, left, and Akira Ioane at Eden Park for the announcement of the rugby sevens squads for the Rio Olympics. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Last week another resident in the Stonefields street, aside from the resident who made the official complaint, gave their account of the situation.
"When we found out an All Black was moving in we were all so excited. Everybody was chatting, 'Oh, I heard there's an All Black moving in, wow, we're gonna be famous'.
"But that excitement died off pretty quickly, because he moved in on a Wednesday and on the Friday he had a party. We were like, 'That's fine'. And then the next Friday it was like, 'Oh' and then the next Friday it was like, 'Oh, okay'."
Bruce Sharrock, the manager for both Rieko Ioane and his brother and Blues teammate Akira Ioane, declined to comment.
No neighbours had called noise control and only one had spoken to Ioane about noise or behaviour - a female resident who confronted the All Black and his friends, including his brother, the neighbour who spoke to the Herald on Sunday said.
"One Friday night they had a party and they had a haka inside the house. Can you believe it? It was 2 o'clock in the morning and it woke up [a female resident]. She could hear the thumping through the ground. Big guys - you should see his friends, everybody's scared of them.
"She was furious, she got up and went over there and the entry door was open and she went inside the house and said, 'Oi, you need to be a bit more mindful, there's neighbours here with young children' and they were all like gobsmacked."
The haka stopped, but the party continued, the neighbour said.
The main problem wasn't the one-off haka, it was the yelling, noisy comings and goings in the early hours and, especially, the foul language.
"I do swear, like a normal person, but some of the swearing's just disgusting ... like the c-word. We all have young children and everybody's pretty disappointed about the behaviour.
"When they drink they just go crazy."
Blues CEO Andrew Hore. Photo / Photosport
Another neighbour had seen Ioane and his friends sculling alcohol - they would have two beers at a time, one to scull and another to sip, the neighbour said.
However, other neighbours told the Herald on Sunday they either hadn't been disturbed by gatherings at Ioane's home or didn't have a problem with them.
One heard said: "It hasn't worried us at all. I was young once and I'm certain we all made noises, but they normally quieten down after 12 o'clock. It's not the end of the world ... I'm a happy neighbour."
Another said: "It's certainly not too loud or causing any disturbance ... they're just enjoying life."
Ioane, an All Blacks starting certainty early in his career before finding himself relegated to the bench for the big games at last year's Rugby World Cup, has courted trouble before.
In 2018 he copped a black eye after a scuffle with a Blues teammate, understood by the Herald to be flanker Blake Gibson, allegedly sparked by a flippant comment Ioane hurled at his teammate after one of the side's many losses in a horror season.
The pair were "just poking fun at each other" and he had apologised to his teammates and the club, Ioane said In a statement at the time.
Brother Akira Ioane has also captured headlines for the wrong reasons, with then-All Blacks coach Steve Hansen citing fitness and attitude as roadblocks to his inclusion in last year's world cup squad.
Last month the 24-year-old revealed his private battle with mental health after the exclusion, saying he realised he'd been giving undue weight to the opinions of fans and media and needed to shut them out of his mind.
The neighbour who spoke to the Herald on Sunday said he didn't have "any hatred" toward his famous neighbour.
"I don't want to hurt his career, because the guy's worked hard to get where he is ... he's a nice fella and his partner is nice. I wish they'd perhaps purchased a house in Remuera or St Heliers where there was a bit more space around them.
"We're living in a very high-density suburb. You're living right next to people. You've just got to be a bit more mindful, you know?"
