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
Rugby bosses are investigating after neighbours of All Black Rieko Ioane complained of noisy late night parties and foul language.
One neighbour was so fed up after being woken up by a 2am haka, she let herself into an open door in Ioane's home to give him and his friends a telling off and was met by a group of "gobsmacked" large men.
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 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'."
Rieko Ioane, pictured leaving the defence behind during the All Blacks Rugby World Cup pool match against Canada in Japan last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Blues were aware of a complaint being lodged via the Independent Complaints Authority, which acts on behalf of New Zealand Rugby, the Super Rugby side's chief executive Andrew Hore said in a written statement to the Herald on Sunday.
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 eight days ago.
Bruce Sharrock, the manager for both Rieko Ioane and his brother and Blues teammate Akira Ioane, declined to comment.
The person who made the complaint did not want to speak to the Herald on Sunday, but said yesterday they'd not yet heard back from the Blues or New Zealand Rugby.
Rieko Ioane lives in Stonefields, a new, high-density suburb in Auckland. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
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.
Rieko Ioane has played 29 tests for the All Blacks, but found himself unable to earn selection in the top tier games at the Rugby World Cup last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell
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."
Rieko Ioane has courted trouble before - in 2018 he apologised to his Blues teammates and club after an altercation with a teammate. Photo / Photosport
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.
Akira Ioane is a veteran for the Blues, but has not been able to make the next step into the All Blacks. Photo / Photosport
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 Helier's where there was a bit more space around them.
