An All Blacks press conference come close to ending in acrimony after journalists rebuffed attempts to stop them asking coach Steve Hansen about new developments in the Aaron Smith sex scandal.
A series of recently released text messages appear to show Smith had convinced the woman he was caught in an airport toilet with last year to lie in a legal document, had mislead his coach, and had attempted to deceive his partner.
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Realising it was going to be a hot topic, Hansen addressed the matter at the start of the conference in an attempt to cool interest in it.
"We better deal with the elephant in the room first: Mr Smith," Hansen began.
"Last year we dealt with it, and we feel like we dealt with it decisively. There's nothing more I can add to that."
However, it turned out there was indeed more he could add - with a journalist asking about Smith's headspace earning a begrudging response from the infamously unenthusiastic coach.
"He's in a great headspace in that he knows he's dealt with this issue, and done the things he needs to do around it - and he's ready to play," Hansen said.
"We're excited about wanting to play. He's excited and we're looking forward to Saturday."
He added that no consideration was given to dropping Smith for the game.
Reporters continued to persist on the topic, drawing several warnings from All Blacks media manager Joe Locke, who said he would end the conference if the question line didn't promptly move onto rugby.
"I think Steve's said pretty much everything he needs to have said, so unless we've got any rugby questions, we'll wrap it up there."
Eventually the questioning did move onto this weekend's Test match - but for Smith, the new revelations will be a major frustration for a player who thought this issue was behind him.
The All Blacks star allegedly had sex with the woman who gave text messages to the Daily Mail in a disabled toilet at Christchurch Airport in September 2016.
He claimed it was a one-off incident and apologised for his "huge error in judgement" - but she says she was having an affair with him for two years.
Newshub.
