On the heels of a first ever series loss in the professional era which included a first ever loss to Ireland on home soil.
The pressure appears to have been ratcheted up on the current All Blacks set-up for both players and coaches alike.
One area that perhaps current players wouldn’t expect an attack from would be from people who have worn the jersey before.
In a shocking scene former, All Black scrumhalf Justin Marshall got stuck into an altercation with current backrow Akira Ioane.
Giving up plenty of size and certainly plenty of years, Marshall the feisty former scrumhalf did not look set to back down.
It is understood the video was taken outside a Wellington bar where the All Blacks were gathering their thoughts following their 2-1 series defeat by Ireland on Saturday night, New Zealand having earlier dropped the series-defining third Test 32-22 at Sky Stadium.
An outspoken commentator these days, Marshall is an All-Black legend who amassed an impressive 81 Test Caps between 1995 & 2005.
In this span he won plenty of silverware for both the All Blacks and Crusaders before moving to Europe and enjoying stints in both the UK and France.
Ioane who alongside his younger brother Reiko has broken into the All-Blacks squad in recent seasons and is a hulking ball carrier with plenty of talent.
Whilst he doesn’t quite have the rungs on the board that Marshall does just yet, he has played for the All-Blacks sevens and NZ Maori in addition to his All-Blacks caps.
In addition to his superstar brother, Ioane’s father is a former Samoan international so he certainly comes from great rugby pedigree.
Despite both men being from great rugby backgrounds it didn’t stop the altercation from taking place during what appears to be a late-night session.
Marshall who is nearly fifty years old was critical of the All Blacks in the wake of their series defeat to Ireland. Speaking from a large platform in New Zealand as a regular guest on the highly popular “The Breakdown” tv show as well as on radio. It would appear Marshall’s comments made their way back to the All-Black squad.
The All Blacks are set to depart for South Africa for a two-test battle with the world champion Springboks and thus present a real opportunity to rebound.
For Ioane should he be selected he will look to do his talking on the field.
Justin Marshall: You’re a dog turd 💩 mate
Akira Ioane: 🥊 pic.twitter.com/bxoHQuexpS
— RHABULA ☕️ (@Rugby_Scoop) July 20, 2022
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