Sonny Bill and his cups ... "getting rid of that bad blood".
What they didn't show are the welts and bruises that follow. Ouch.
"A lil wet cupping-hijama with the bro @b0626h [Ben Aeaki] getting rid of that bad blood," SBW posted online.
The devout Muslim follows the Sunnah way of life, based on the teachings of the prophet Muhammad and the interpretations of the Koran.
Cupping, or hijama in Arabic, is part of the Islamic prophetic teaching.
Now, our sports lads are no strangers to relaxing metrosexual massages and spa treatments, but few have undergone the welt-cushion remedy.
Lovebirds seen taking flight
That loud rumbling you heard in the South Island this week wasn't a 6.2 magnitude quake. It was the sound of female hearts thudding as All Black captain Richie McCaw and his hockey star girlfriend, Gemma Flynn, were pictured loved-up on Instagram.
Their high-flying romance reached new heights on Sunday when Flynn posted a pic of the lovebirds arm-in-arm in front of a chopper the AB had piloted.
Could he get any more perfect? Er, he could pop the question, which his rep reliably informs The Diary he's yet to do. The couple are not engaged. Until he puts a ring on it, we can all dream, right?
Talented teen to pop queen
Twelve months ago, a teenage Ella Yelich-O'Connor was posing in her Takapuna Grammar uniform, as her mum reminded us on social media this week.
Now the 17-year-old Grammy-winner has secured a solid footing in the fickle world of pop music.
Lorde returned to Auckland on Wednesday from an exhausting sell-out American tour. Next month, she turns 18. Her Sydney gig at Hordern Pavilion on November 7 (her birthday) has been cancelled, so can we expect a big birthday bash in her local town? Local paps have digits crossed.
Claws are out in leadership race
Never work with kids or animals because they'll only show you up. Evidently Andrew Little didn't get the memo. The lead contender in the Labour Leadership Quest was upstaged by Buddy the cat.
Andrew Little and Buddy.
Little, who posed for this pic in a brick keyhole, tweeted: "A bit difficult getting good photos when Buddy is demanding attention."
The photobombing by Buddy may have scored Twitter attention, but Little needs a bigger boost if he is to gain cut-through with the broader left-leaning public.
Barry & Henry? Maybe
Popular broadcaster Hilary Barry is yet to make up her mind on the new syndicated cross-platform media show fronted by Paul Henry, she told The Diary.
Hilary Barry is weighing her options. Photo / Steven McNicholl
The RadioLive morning newscaster, who will lose her role with Marcus Lush when his show stops at the end of the year, said she wasn't sure if she would put her hand up for the alternative.
"It's too difficult to say because I really don't know what the new show will entail. I'd need to know more. It's still at the planning stages and until something is put on the table, I couldn't say."
Asked about Lush's show being axed and what she'll miss most about RadioLive mornings, Barry wouldn't divulge. "I wouldn't want to comment publicly about that."
Lush was given only a few days' warning his long-standing show would be dumped. He lost the patronage of former CEO Sussan Turner, an old friend, when she left in August, and The Diary has spied the pair in private tete-a-tetes over the last few weeks. Presumably he's been weighing up options and getting external advice.
A MediaWorks spokeswoman said Lush is in discussions with the company about a new role.
LON/LAX FM gives Air NZ cool cred up in the airwaves
Our national carrier has launched a new station on board its London-to-Los Angeles route for Air NZ business premier passengers called The LON/LAX Series. A British-based DJ, a British-born comedy writer and a London-based promotion and events company have provided content for the series. But where are the expat Kiwi artists?
DJ Gilles Peterson fronts LON/LAX FM, an hour-long radio show, in which he shares his latest musical discoveries in both London and LA.
Air NZ launched a promotional video this week plugging Gilles' show, which is about "celebrating all that's best in London and Los Angeles in 2014", the radio and club DJ says.
Comedy writer David Quantick and tech events company 3 Beards will launch shows soon.
All three add an undeniably cool cred to the international carrier, but wouldn't it be nice if the airline used its position to extend a patriotic arts branch too?
Weinstein jets in secretly
The King of Hollywood Harvey Weinstein jetted into Auckland this week on his private plane for a two-day stay to oversee the last parts of production on his movie
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend
, which wraps shooting this weekend.
Weinstein is a producer on the flick and an insider on set told The Diary his visit "was so low-key and so unassuming; he was here fleetingly just doing his producer thing and then flew out."
Devonport: What is it famous for?
Hollywood starlet Jessica Biel, aka Mrs Timberlake, went unrecognised in a Devonport health store on Wednesday. She later dined in a nearby cafe, but Devonportians weren't fazed. They're already famous on the Auckland map. Here's why:
1. Lorde, Lorde, Lorde. She lives at home with her mum and dad and baby siblings.
2.Sailors at the naval base. It's Auckland's answer to an An Officer and a Gentleman.
3. Kronic-free zone (before it became illegal). Three years ago, local parents launched a grassroots movement protesting against the sale of the synthetic cannabis.
4. The Art Deco Victoria Cinema. The grand old lady, built in 1912 and remodelled in the 1930s, is the oldest cinema in the Southern Hemisphere still in continuous use.
5. Artist haven. A.R.D. Fairburn, Gin Wigmore, Robyn Malcolm, Tem Morrison and Debbie Harwood have all called it home.
6. Joan Collins and Rachel Hunter shot scenes on Cheltenham Beach in the movie flop Ozzie, about a young koala living in Australia. Can't imagine why it was a fizzer.
