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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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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“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
They probably left another 20 on the field to be fair. Also - the officiating was… ordinary.
1 Go to commentsblackadder isnt a key player at all you cant say hes been the best player or a key all black when hes injured every week
2 Go to commentsThat loss to the Blues still stings! The Reds have fallen short in 4 of the 6 games decided by 7 points or fewer. Are they not fit enough to close out the close games or are there tactical issues when games go down to the wire? The pleasing thing is no Australian side can better the Reds record of 3 wins from 5 against Kiwi sides but the Brumbies can match it. Les Kiss has instilled a belief in the Reds that they can match it with all the New Zealand sides.
42 Go to commentsA potential 5th star for Leinster and redemption adter losing 2 tight finals against La Rochelle against Toulouse and the chance for Jacques Nienaber to have some success without Rassie Erasmus running the show.
4 Go to commentsThanks Nick, and welcome back 😁 Vulavalu does look better this year, and about time. I suspect Schmidt will knock the hubris out of him. That one handed put down was so embarrassing. Mind you, I had thought Kiss would deal with that. Leaving aside the different games and skills, in NRL he had a very good (but no bullshit) type of coach in Bellamy, something he hasn't had in Union until this year. Bellamy would have roasted him unmercifully for an unprofessional put down.
42 Go to commentsYou’d think the first step would be taking responsibility for the stupid sh*t you did and to stop blaming other people. Does he seriously think that people believe him when he says it just magically got into his system without him knowing anything about it? You’re gonna notice if you’re on the juice, bruh.
2 Go to commentsI watch the Reds now, and many of their players, and think back to watching London Irish in their last two years under Michael Kiss. I recall Nick Phipps looking a very competent scrumhalf, Rob Simmons a lynch pin in the lineouts. Both men writen off by many on the rugby sites. There is no question in my mind that Kiss has a very different touch to any coach the Reds have had in years. It will take time, but this team could develop into a very good team, hard to beat by any one down here in the SH. You highlight two players especially, Nick. Vunivalu and Paisami are thriving this year, especially the latter. And so many others. The now heavier Fraser McReight, his great mate Harry Wilson, and the “Fardy” man, Liam Wright. That is only three, ut in reality every player is acroos the whole squad is the better for the new regime.
42 Go to commentsRecord Score Downloading…………..
1 Go to commentsWonderful insightful interview with Crusader Johnny McNicoll. He was exceptional in the wins over the Chiefs and Rebels and I am sure he will get a contract again for 2025. He was an excitement machine for Canterbury and the Crusaders in 2011-16 and he still is. He has added to the attack particularly. Had a fine career with Wales in the intervening years.
1 Go to commentsAmazing what decent coaching can do! I always felt Folau never improved much as a player and never had a great coach using his talents. Suli seems different at qld this year.
42 Go to commentsI’m sick to death of waiting 3 years for league players to become half decent. It cripples Australian rugby in the meantime. The Reds actually looked half competent without Vunivalu not starting last week. He’s just a liability of errors. Paisami is looking better than he has in previous years but I’d have Kerevi back in a flash. A kiwi wont tho …...
42 Go to commentsExcellent analysis Nick as we have come to expect. I was not really aware that NFL strategies have been adopted by rugby teams, especially in defence. One point I would make is that the Northhampton attacking player on the end of the chain in the video examples has not maintained the correct depth to be effective. In the footage shown the outside player is too flat to make the best of the opportunity his inside players have provided. In each case they have to reduce speed and turn their body backwards to secure the ball, losing all momentum and giving the impressive scrambling defence the chance to shut down the threat.
4 Go to commentsMorning, John. Do you think that it may be a good idea to rest both teams from the Madrid comp leading in to the Olympics
2 Go to comments« I am preparing myself for much more, something much bigger. I’m focussing on the next cycle, » You don’t say…
2 Go to commentsGeez plenty of time to come right before test season starts. Dont panic mr Mannering!!!!!
2 Go to commentsGreat read Nick. The Reds really have been great to watch this year, and the improvement of not only the players you mention, but the squad in general has been obvious. The Reds 10/12 play making axis is a nice counterpoint to the 10/15 partnership at the Brumbies and Rebels. If Schmidt was to pick say, Lolesio, Paisami and Wright / Kellaway, would this be too many play makers? I notice in a lot of those clips Tim Ryan playing across the field in support of Vunivalu. Is this a feature of Kiss’s structure?
42 Go to commentsSo sad, god rest him. Too young to be gone. RIP
2 Go to commentsRIP big man 🙏
2 Go to commentsThe GB coach. “Just because we don’t get together as much as other teams we don’t use that as an excuse for performances when we don’t hit the mark”. Why mention it at all then?
1 Go to commentsNo mention of the yellow card for Harlequins which really cost them.
5 Go to comments