New Zealand scrum-half Aaron Smith has apologised to his partner and both of their families after admitting he joined a “female friend” in a public toilet last month.

Smith has been suspended for a test as a result of the encounter, which occurred at Christchurch Airport the day after the All Blacks beat South Africa on September 17.

When the All Black squad heard about the incident they made a decision to ban the player for a test, as Smith’s behaviour “not of All Blacks standard”.

"I've made a huge mistake." - Aaron Smith apologises after being caught with a 'female friend' in a public toilet. https://t.co/Fj9RAtFAII

— Sky Sports Rugby 🏉 (@SkySportsRugby) October 6, 2016

Smith is now making his way home and, speaking to press in South Africa, he apologised for the incident.

“I’ve made a huge mistake, a huge error in judgement,” he said. “I’d firstly like to say a huge sorry to my partner Teagan, her family, my family.”

The tearful player added: “My behaviour was unacceptable and if you could respect me and my partner in this situation. I’m just trying to get home to deal with this.”