New Zealand Rugby will take no further action against Aaron Smith following an independent investigation into his misconduct last year.

Smith was suspended in September last year after he was seen entering a toilet cubicle with a female friend at Christchurch Airport.

Although New Zealand Rugby completed an investigation and issued him with a written warning soon after, they reopened its investigation in August this year following media reports questioning certain inconsistencies.

The investigator concluded that while there were some inconsistencies between his account at the time and the information reported by media, this did not have any material impact on the outcome of the original hearing.

‘Being honest, particularly in a disciplinary proceeding, is critically important for any employer and that is certainly the case with NZR,’ chief executive Steve Tew commented. ‘To reinforce this point, we have issued Aaron Smith with a formal written warning.’

Photo: David Moir/AFP