Ioane brothers poised to remain with Blues
Rieko and Akira Ioane are poised to remain with the Blues franchise, provided New Zealand Rugby agrees to terms with the pair. The Blues portion of the contract has already been agreed upon according to head coach Tana Umaga.
“As far as I know [the contracts] are with New Zealand,” said Umaga.
“When you sign here there are two people that need to get the deal done. At this stage, they know what we’re offering and it’s down to NZ Rugby now.
“They’re both committed in terms of the last discussions we’ve had.
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for, and we’re very happy about the outcome.”
Ahead of this weekend’s clash against the Hurricanes in the capital, Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree revealed that Akira Ioane had been shopped to all the franchises a while back.
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Should Rieko Ioane leave the Blues?
“We’re not chasing Akira now because we believe he’s staying with the Blues,” said Plumtree.
“He was made available to every franchise in the country a little while ago and I’m sure there were a lot of clubs interested.”
Head coach Tana Umaga isn’t phased by the talk, aware that agents are required to find the best deal for their clients. He is happy the brothers have re-committed as the franchise looks to turn around its recent run of poor results.
“That’s the agent’s prerogative. That’s his job trying to get the best for his client. It’s not great for us, or it hasn’t been, but the positive thing is that he’s staying with us. That’s the thing we’re looking forward to and I know Aki is as well.”
Akira Ioane continues to demonstrate his growing potential with dominant performances with ball-in-hand, pushing his case for national selection. It is no surprise that there were other interested suitors for his services, Plumtree adding that they have ‘a gap for that type of player’.
The retention is an important part of re-building the Blues, with both the Ioane’s homegrown products.
“It’s important to retain all the talent we have, and those guys especially because they’re playing well and they mean a lot to our club, and a lot to our region. To get those nods is really positive for us as whole.”
“You guys are just catching up. We’ve been dealing with it for a while now. It’s come to light probably not in the way we would have liked but it’s the industry we’re in.”
“We’ve got no control over that. It is what it is, and the end of the story is he’s with us.”
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
What a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
104 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
1 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
2 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
2 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
104 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
3 Go to commentsWell one thing about World Cup knock out rounds and Ireland is very clear: they won’t be getting ahead of themselves in ‘27! Because making it beyond the QF is well and truly ‘IN THEIR HEADS’ now…😉
104 Go to commentsHas this guy been dope tested? Sounds like a case of “roid rage”.
1 Go to commentsI would like to see him say that to Eben face to face in a dark alley.
104 Go to comments