'Only thing he lacks': Ex-All Blacks say pressure now on Rieko Ioane to deliver

Billy Proctor’s breakout performance in his All Blacks debut against Fiji will force incumbent centre Rieko Ioane to up his game according to ex-All Blacks Jeff Wilson and John Kirwan.

The Hurricanes centre dazzled in his first Test with a display beyond his years that showed the full range of skills from the No 13 jersey.

The difference between Proctor’s showing and Rieko Ioane’s two Tests against England was clear, with the caveat that the quality of the opposition differs greatly.

Ex-All Black Jeff Wilson said that the All Blacks coaches will now know what Proctor is capable of as they assess their midfield options.

“Look, Rieko’s vastly experienced. What Billy proctor went out and did is, fundamentally, he was accurate in everything you need to see from an All Black centre,” Wilson told Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.

“Running great lines, defensively was really strong. But once again, he’s not going to have this time and space against a big and physical defence like South Africa and Argentina.

“When he goes out and has to deliver, he’s going to put pressure on everybody else, right? So now we know what he’s capable of.

“Does that mean he starts over Rieko Ioane in a big Test match? It’s going to be a different challenge.”

Sir John Kirwan was straight forward in his assessment of Ioane, highlighting the missing piece of his game right now is the “last pass” that frees up the runners outside.

The ex-All Black praised the rest of Ioane’s game but the ability to execute the final ball is the area he needs to work on.

“What Rieko needs to learn to do under pressure is give that last pass. That’s the only thing he lacks, probably,” Kirwan said.

“He is incredibly strong getting us over the advantage line. Now he’s running really hard lines, the lines that you saw.

“Proctor did that against Fiji, he would have had a blinder yesterday, Rieko. But what they need, when the pressure comes on, is we need to make that last pass.

“Rieko, technically, you do that and we don’t have too many problems. If he doesn’t get better, that’s when they go, oh Billy, you get out there and have a crack.

“So Rieko will know that it’ll be on his things to improve list. But now he’s got that pressure that really motivates you.”

Wilson added that the Blues’ style of play this season means that Ioane is playing catch up at the international level to adjust back to playing with more width.

The English rush defence was also another factor, but the Blues have not played an expansive game this year which means the star centre is short of recent experience executing in game situations.

“He went a whole season without passing the ball with the Blues, because that’s not the way the Blues played,” Wilson said.

“They were direct, they were physical, the fact he wasn’t using the soft skills, the fact they were playing in a lot of games, once again, at night, there’s a couple of afternoon games, but they were blunt force trauma through the middle, and that’s what he did really well.

“He was really strong defensively. We should never underestimate the use of his speed and how he can save the day defensively quite often.

“But in terms of those passing skills, he didn’t do a lot of it through Super Rugby, and I think it’s taking him a bit of a bit of time to get back, maybe back into the habit.

“And against England, you weren’t going to get a lot of opportunity to do that. He missed a couple of opportunities there. It’s something I’ll have to work on.”