Rieko Ioane opens up on questioning whether his All Blacks career was over

Few All Blacks careers capture the hype, awe and contention of Rieko Ioane’s. In July, a decade after becoming the eighth-youngest All Black ever in his 2016 debut, he was dropped from the squad for the first time. The now 29-year-old has since been recalled in an expanded squad for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, and has opened up on thinking his All Blacks days were done.

Sitting on 40 career Test tries, the eighth-most in All Blacks history, Ioane’s elite finishing was a constant feature of the team in his early years, although that strike rate dropped off considerably with his 2020 move to the midfield.

The position shift was one of the hottest topics around All Blacks selection for the following four seasons, but the speedster quickly won the No.13 jersey and retained it for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, only losing his grasp on it last year, when Scott Robertson moved him back to the wing.

While the shift back to the outside backs was one many fans and pundits had been calling for, it was far from a resounding success, lasting five games before Leroy Carter was given a debut and Caleb Clarke returned from injury. Once that door opened for Carter and Clarke, it closed for Ioane, who was barely seen thereafter.

Speaking with DSPN in South Africa after his return to the black jersey against the Stormers, Ioane was asked whether he thought he was going to be back in the All Blacks six months ago.

“Look, after the last two years, probably not so much,” he responded. “I was a bit 50/50 on whether I would be, just based on all events that happened.

“But then I started to get that confidence back once I was playing in Ireland with the Leinster crew. With my footy over there, I felt like I was at least good enough to be back in this environment one day.”

Fixture

Rugby Union Hybrid Friendlies

Bulls

10:00

15 Aug 26

New Zealand

All Stats and Data

Ioane’s sabbatical with Leinster after 10 seasons with his beloved hometown Blues in Super Rugby was a refresher in more ways than one, briefly escaping some of the expectations that come with being a senior All Black.

“There wasn’t too much expectation; nothing that I felt, really. Even in preparations for a game, I could see the boys that had been there a while, how much Leinster meant for them as a club, so it’s just the internal expectations that you take on as well as the outside pressure that you can feel,” he explained.

“But as someone who had just joined the group, I didn’t feel any of that expectation, which is where I felt I grew.

“Because there was no expectation, no pressure, no noise after games and all of that stuff that comes with rugby, I felt like I could just play my own footy and that’s what I did.”

A major challenge in the chapter of Ioane’s career preceding his sabbatical was the aforementioned positional shift back to wing, a position that has evolved steadily since he last occupied it.

“It’s a tough one. At the time, I felt like I was just getting pushed out of position,” Ioane reflected. “I was playing all midfield during Super Rugby, and regardless of whatever, I was sticking there. And there was no time for me to adapt to that wing role — it should have been easy enough, but my performances last year weren’t good enough on the wing. I felt that.

“So, I struggled with that for a bit. As I said, the sabbatical came at a good time.”

Leinster signed the 89-Test sprinter with the idea he was a midfield back who could cover wing, and proceeded to hand him 13 starts in the No.13 jersey, including in the URC final, and three starts on the left wing, which all came in the Champions Cup playoffs.

New Zealand Rugby allow senior players who reach a certain threshold – related to commitment and contributions to the local game – to spend a sabbatical season abroad, essentially allowing those players to double-dip with their income stream while experiencing a different brand of club rugby.

Ioane’s NZR contract remains in place, ensuring his All Blacks eligibility throughout his sabbatical and at next year’s Rugby World Cup, which he says is his goal to attend. But he’s reluctant to look that far ahead.

“I’m signed till ’27. So hopefully I’m sticking around this team; I definitely want to be going to the World Cup. But there’s a lot of rugby to be played in that time, and there’s so many things that can happen.

“But my immediate goal is just to enjoy this tour and make sure I’m playing good rugby; continuing my form and just enjoying every day, because I felt there were times throughout last year where I wasn’t enjoying it. And that was showing up on the field.

“So the immediate focus is just to be where my feet are. To enjoy this tour week by week, and then as I start to hopefully rack up games, then we can start talking bigger future.”