Steve Hansen backs Aaron Smith despite latest allegations

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has backed half-back Aaron Smith to play well in tomorrow’s Bledisloe Cup opener against the Wallabies despite the latest allegations about his airport “toilet tryst” scandal.

In a spicy pre-match press conference, Hansen also rejected claims that Wallabies coach Michael Cheika confronted him about last year’s infamous bugging scandal.

A newspaper report claims Smith may have misled his All Blacks bosses over the incident with a woman at Christchurch airport that had him sent home from last year’s tour of South Africa and subsequently suspended.