All Blacks flanker Sione Lauaki has been ordered to attend an anger management classes after appearing in court charged with deliberately damaging property at an Auckland motel in the early hours of New Year's Day.
Lauaki, 27, has been ordered by a judge to attend a 20-week program at Auckland's Man Alive Men's centre after causing damage to windows and a television at the motel following an argument with a woman believed to be his girlfriend. Should he produce evidence that he has completed the course and paid the NZ$700 damages he will be "discharged without conviction".
Lauaki has 17 caps for the All Blacks and will represent the Chiefs in the upcoming Super 14competition. Lauaki has been in trouble with the authorities before, admitting an assault on a security guard in Hamilton in 2006.
He will now be the subject of a New Zealand Rugby Union enquiry into his behaviour, a process that his club intends to back him through.
"He's a tremendous part of our squad," Chiefs chief executive Gary Dawson told AAP. "It's unfortunate this has happened, but we will certainly support him and do everything we can to help him through this."
Lauaki is the latest in a list of All Blacks to be involved in similar incidents in recent times, with scrum-half Jimmy Cowan and wing Doug Howlett both being the subject of investigations into their behaviour last year before flanker Adam Thomson also made the headlines for the wrong reason after being accused of assault in December.
The Chiefs won their opening pre-season bout with the Blues 21-17 on Saturday, a game Lauaki missed through injury.