Why the Aaron Smith-Josh Ioane partnership is the foundation of the Highlanders' future
When the Highlanders were faced with the dilemma of replacing star first-five Lima Sopoaga last year, few players stood out as viable candidate to fill the boots of the 17-test All Black.
Sopoaga had been at the club since 2011, played a pivotal role in the unprecedented success the franchise enjoyed under the stewardship of former head coach Jamie Joseph, and was good enough to be considered the second-best first-five in New Zealand behind Beauden Barrett.
He had a wonderful mixture of hard-earned experience and exceptional talent, so when the announcement of his departure to Premiership side Wasps was made ahead of the 2018 Super Rugby campaign, the Highlanders had an unenviable task of unearthing their next star playmaker.
Quality first-fives at Super Rugby level don’t come easily – just ask the likes of Bryn Gatland and Fletcher Smith, both of whom played starring roles in last year’s Mitre 10 Cup with North Harbour and Waikato, only to endure limited game time at the Highlanders and Hurricanes whilst failing to set the world alight when on the park.
What’s more is that to succeed in Super Rugby, a capable first-five is a necessity.
Think of all the title-winning sides since 1996, and in those teams were playmakers that had forged reputations as some of the best of their time.
Spencer, Mehrtens, Larkham, Carter, Steyn, Cooper, Cruden, Foley, Sopoaga, Barrett and now Mo’unga – it’s no coincidence that these players were all genuine stars of their generations and all have Super Rugby titles to their names.
So, when Sopoaga, who helped steer the Highlanders to their maiden crown in 2015, left for greener financial pastures, he left with him a gaping hole within the club’s squad that needed to be filled as quickly as possible.
Head coach Aaron Mauger brought back the experienced Marty Banks this year in a bid to offset the inexperience provided by incumbents Gatland and youngster Josh Ioane.
While many anticipated that it would be Banks that would take the helm of the Highlanders’ playmaking role given his years in a variety of sides both in New Zealand and around the world, it was Ioane that was pushed into the deep end and handed the No. 10 jersey in the side’s first match since Sopoaga’s departure.
Although he’d had a promising Mitre 10 Cup campaign where he showed signs of improvement from a shaky debut Super Rugby season, Ioane’s selection to run the cutter against the Chiefs on February 15 wasn’t one that brought with it an overwhelming sense of security.
With only eight Super Rugby caps to his name, the 23-year-old’s selection instead brought with it a sense of both intrigue and anxiousness as to how he would go in the first match in the post-Sopoaga era of the Highlanders.
What transpired was an admirable performance, with Ioane looking composed and comfortable as he kicked six goals from six attempts to drive his 14-man side to 30-27 win in Hamilton.
As the year has worn on, Ioane’s stature and reputation on a national scale has continued to grow, to the point where many are suggesting the former Samoa U20 representative could well be on his way to an All Blacks call-up.
The quietly-spoken Ioane has since shot down such speculation, telling RugbyPass on Saturday in the wake of the Highlanders’ 32-27 win over the Jaguares: “I just focus on my role in the team, try not to focus on that stuff.
“Still, I’m really learning a lot this year, and I’m enjoying it, and just trying to keep my best foot forward for the team and do my role.”
Regardless of whether a World Cup call-up comes to fruition for the ex-King’s College pupil or not, he has still vastly improved as a footballer.
His ability to splinter the defensive line with ball in hand, or to free up players outside of him with accurate, long range cut out balls has been integral for the Highlanders in 2019, while his kicking – both in general play and from the tee – is a lot better than what it was this time last year.
“I still message the likes of Lima [Sopoaga] and Hayden Parker on social media, still message them with videos on how I can kick better, and even Marty [Banks] helps a bit, but at the end of the day, it’s about going out there and backing yourself,” Ioane said of his refined kicking game.
But, while he credits current and former teammates for his ability from the boot, one of the key factors in Ioane’s sudden rise to national prominence this year – similarly to Sopoaga’s rise to the All Blacks four years ago – has been the presence of halfback Aaron Smith.
Capped 82 times by the All Blacks and a member of the title-winning Highlanders squad, Smith brings an immense amount of experience to balance out the youthfulness of Ioane in the halves.
Together, they’ve created a recipe for a quality partnership.
While Ioane has captivated onlookers with his seemingly fearless ball-running capacity, sensational distribution, and outstanding goal-kicking, a lot of what he’s achieved this year wouldn’t be possible without the involvement of Smith.
The incredibly flat, crisp, accurate passing of Smith is probably the most important aspect of his partnership with Ioane.
It provides his first-five with clean, front-foot ball to work from, with the velocity of his passing giving Ioane more time to work through his options against the defensive line.
As a result, with more time and space available throughout Ioane’s decision-making at first-receiver, opportunities to dent the opposition’s defence through either his running or passing game increase, and with a running and passing game like Ioane’s, he doesn’t need many opportunities to capitalise on.
The influence of the two players has been exemplified over the course of the season, but especially in the Highlanders’ last two outings.
The Dunedin-based club have lost just once in the five matches that both Smith and Ioane have started in the halves together, and the duo’s performances are continuing to ascend into peak form, as was seen in the Highlanders’ 31-all draw with the Chiefs a fortnight ago.
Smith’s passing was so lethal that it assisted three of his team’s four tries, with one of them being a Ioane five-pointer where he took the ball to the line in both hands, leaving defenders Tumua Manu and Etene Nanai-Seturo hapless as he split through the middle of them to crash over from close range.
As for last week’s clash against the Jaguares, the pair worked in tandem beautifully to set free those outside of them, with Ioane setting up tries for flanker James Lentjes and midfielder Sio Tomkinson.
The latter put on a particularly eye-catching display, his best in Highlanders colours this year, leading Ioane to admit that the 9-10-12 axis was a focal point in training earlier in the week.
“We’ve been working on that throughout the week [at] 9, 10 and 12, and we’ve been trying to focus on the connections through the backs,” he said.
With Tomkinson just a year younger than Ioane, it could be a trio of which we could see a lot more of in the future, thanks to 30-year-old Smith recently signing a two-year contract extension with New Zealand Rugby that will keep him in Dunedin until the end of 2021.
“He’s an exciting kid, a quiet fella, but he’s a hard-working guy,” Smith said of Ioane last week.
“He’s exciting, drives our team well, and this year, he’s been brilliant for us. I love just throwing the ball to him, see what he’s going to do. His goal-kicking and everything is great as well, so we’re very lucky.”
The coaching work and selection nous of Mauger to thrust his youngest first-five into the mix from the beginning of the season is starting to pay dividends, and Ioane’s on-field chemistry with Smith is a tantalising prospect.
“We were a lot more clinical, I thought our management of the territory as a lot better this evening. I thought Aaron and Josh controlled that really well,” Mauger said in the wake of the Jaguares fixture.
“I thought Nuggy [Smith] took a lot of that responsibility, I thought his leadership was really clear to see, and Josh is learning.
“He’s getting better every time he’s getting out on the field, so every time he gets 80 minutes of experience under his belt, he’s going to be better for it. He’s growing.”
Now sitting in fifth-place with just five rounds left to play, the priority for Smith, Ioane and the Highlanders for the remainder of the season will be to secure a quarter-finals berth.
But, if this Smith-Ioane partnership in the halves continues to prosper at the rate that it has done this season, calls to see this duo operate at a higher level will only grow louder.
Ioane may have ruled it out for this year at least, but if he and Smith keep up this sort of form together, those calls might just be heard by the All Blacks.
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Comments on RugbyPass
This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
31 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
2 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
15 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
1 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
15 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
15 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
15 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to comments