Halfback receives warning

the first and second halves. We were down 10-0 and a young side had to show some composure, and the new skipper showed a lot too.’’

Hansen felt his side, as well as referee Nigel Owens (more on that later) probably got caught up in the festive nature of the occasion, but he was happy that the adjustments eventually came.

‘‘That was the most pleasing thing about it. This year has been a lot like that with the talent we’ve got out. It’s a good learning year for us.’’

And as for new faces Matt Duffie (13 minutes, and zero touches), Tim Perry (25 minutes) and Asafo Aumua (13 minutes), who all came off the bench, Hansen said the benefits for them, as well as returnees such as Seta Tamanivalu and Jeffery ToomagaAllen, were more about the week, rather than the match.

‘‘It’s really not how much gametime they get in that first one, it’s about how they fit into the whole week, and the experience you get. It’s not normally our mode to throw them in that first week, but they coped particularly well.’’

Foster credited Ngani Laumape and his two wings with making the most of their opportunities too.

‘‘As the game unfolded, and we started to get a little bit of goforward ball, Ngani started to show himself pretty well. He’s strong near the goal-line, and it’s good to see him doing what he’s good at.’’

Foster said Naholo was one of the best All Blacks in the match and ‘‘did a whole lot of little things well’’. He produced two nice poppasses to set up tries and denied

the impressive Kwagga Smith a try with his covering speed.

His praise for Tamanivalu was amore considered. ‘‘Seta looked good with the ball, but he’s got to

learn how to get a little more engaged when they start shutting him off a bit in midfield.’’

When talk turned to some of the banter in the match, Hansen also

had a slight dig at Welsh referee Owens who was not his usual accurate self (his miss of Akker van der Merwe’s probable try when Beauden Barrett was casual

covering ball in goal probably cost the Baabaas any sniff of a comeback).

‘‘Most of the banter came from Nigel I reckon ... it would have

been good if he’d reffed this one,’’ said Hansen.

‘‘It was a festival game and like the rest of us you fall into the trap of getting caught in it. He did a good job, but there’s no doubt in my mind he wasn’t as focused as he would have been if it was a test match.’’ Maybe now All Blacks halfback Aaron Smith can shut the book on the most unsavoury and unsettling period of his career.

But he will do so with the firm understanding that he would not want to repeat the indiscretions that cast such a cloud over his place in the All Blacks.

New Zealand Rugby has issued Aaron Smith with a formal written warning after completing its investigation into last year’s toilet tryst at Christchurch Airport.

The All Blacks halfback was given a warning last year by his NZR bosses and stood down voluntarily from a Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park.

However, the governing body launched a new independent investigation in August this year following media reports questioning inconsistencies in information provided by Smith to NZR at his original disciplinary hearing.

But while the investigator concluded that there were some inconsistencies between his account at the time and the information reported by media, it 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,’’ NZR chief executive Steve Tew said in a statement.

‘‘To reinforce this point, we have issued Aaron Smith with a formal written warning.’’

The incident had been thrust back into the public domain after the woman involved told Australian media she would be taking legal action in an attempt to protect her reputation.

Smith, who was sent home from South Africa over the incident, said it was a one-off, but the woman told they had been in a relationship for two years.

Smith was seen entering a disabled toilet with the woman after the test against the Springboks in Christchurch in September.

He was travelling with the team at the time and wearing All Blacks gear.

The 28-year-old is currently on tour with the All Blacks in the UK although he was not named in the squad to play the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday (NZ time).

Tew said NZR considered this matter now closed and would not be making any further comment, leaving Smith clear to continue his All Blacks revival in 2017.

Smith struggled for form and confidence when he eventually returned to the All Blacks late in

2016, but appeared to have put the matter behind him in 2017 when he refound his A game.

And even when the Australian Daily Mail report surfaced around the Sydney Bledisloe, detailing exchanges between the All Black and the woman at the centre of the scandal, it did not appear to affect his game.

Earlier this week the 28-yearold halfback, who has played 68 tests for the All Blacks, said he felt ready to finish his year strongly.

Steve Hansen