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Highlanders shift young All Blacks star Josh Ioane away from No. 10 as team named for season-opener
One-test All Blacks pivot Josh Ioane will be thrust into Super Rugby action from the midfield rather than first-five after being named to start at second-five for the Highlanders’ first match of the 2020 campaign.
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The 24-year-old was a revelation for the franchise last year after being handed the majority of the playmaking duties from the No. 10 jersey, where he shone through his exciting running game and astute goal-kicking.
The promise shown in his breakout Super Rugby season led to an All Blacks debut last September, but it appears Ioane has been usurped in the first-five role by new recruit Mitch Hunt ahead of the Highlanders’ season-opening clash against the Sharks in Dunedin on Friday.
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The former Crusaders back-up has been named to start in what will be his franchise debut for the Highlanders, and will form a dual playmaking axis with Ioane, who will start just outside of him at No. 12.
Hunt is joined by starting wings Jona Nareki and Tima Fainga’anuku – both of whom shone in last year’s Mitre 10 Cup for Otago and Tasman, respectively – in making their maiden appearances for the Highlanders.
Ioane, meanwhile, is one of four All Blacks named in the starting team alongside long-serving hooker Liam Coltman, veteran halfback Aaron Smith and one-cap flanker Dillon Hunt.
The man who consigned the @Highlanders to one of the most painful losses in recent franchise history is now looking to cement himself as the club’s premier playmaker. #SuperRugby #Highlandershttps://t.co/e5nq4Eh5ta
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 4, 2020
Coltman and Smith will both be on restricted minutes as part of the All Blacks’ resting program for players returning from last year’s World Cup in Japan.
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Traditionally an openside flanker, Hunt will don the No. 6 jersey to accomodate for new skipper James Lentjes, who will start at No. 7.
On the bench, there are a further three debutants-in-waiting in the form of ex-Chiefs forward Jesse Parete, former Blues fullback Michael Collins and rookie Wellington loose forward Teariki Ben-Nicholas.
Additionally, All Blacks flanker Shannon Frizell has also been named in the reserves, and like his World Cup teammates Coltman and Smith, the 25-year-old is scheduled for limited game time.
Friday’s encounter against the Sharks marks the first time the Highlanders will play without a raft of departed stars who headed abroad following last season’s quarter-final finish.
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Among those to have left Forsyth Barr Stadium include All Blacks Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo, Liam Squire, Luke Whitelock, Jackson Hemopo, Elliot Dixon and Tyrel Lomax.
Other key players, such as Tom Franklin, Richard Buckman, Matt Faddes, Marty Banks and Tevita Li, are also gone, but head coach Aaron Mauger remains confident in his side’s ability to emerge victorious in front of a home crowd.
“The squad has worked very hard during the preseason and the players are excited by the opportunity to play in front of our home supporters at our stadium,” Mauger said in a statement.
Kick-off for this weekend’s match is scheduled for 7.05pm local time.
Highlanders team to face the Sharks at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin on Friday:
1. Ayden Johnstone
2. Liam Coltman
3. Siate Tokolahi
4. Paripari Parkinson
5. Josh Dickson
6. Dillon Hunt
7. James Lentjes (C)
8. Marino Mikaele-Tu’u
9. Aaron Smith
10. Mitch Hunt
11. Jona Nareki
12. Josh Ioane
13. Rob Thompson
14. Tima Fainga’anuku
15. Josh McKay
RESERVES
16. Ash Dixon
17. Daniel Lienert-Brown
18. Josh Iosefa-Scott
19. Jesse Parete
20. Shannon Frizell
21. Kayne Hammington
22. Michael Collins
23. Teariki Ben-Nicholas
Unavailable due to injury: Jeff Thwaites (foot), Tevita Nabura (back), Thomas Umaga-Jensen (shoulder), Teihorangi Walden (ribs), Ngane Punivai (knee)
Season ending injuries: Connor Garden-Bachop (back), Ricky Jackson (ankle)
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to comments