'You'd almost rather miss a kick in a game than lose to Lima' - Highlanders flyhalf Josh Ioane on his competitions with Sopoaga
Highlanders flyhalf Josh Ioane has been a sensation since hitting the Super Rugby scene in 2018, stepping up to fill the first five role once occupied by Liam Sopoaga until he made the high profile move to join Wasps in the Premiership.
The flyhalf detailed his experiences with the hyper-competitive Sopoaga as a rookie joining the Highlanders camp as an injury cover when he was a not-so-known prospect coming out of Kings College in Auckland on this week’s Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
In the professional environment, the trainings can become super competitive and mini-skill games are often are played with small bets to increase the stakes. Ioane explained how these situations unfold within position groups.
“One thing at the Landers at the end of training, we’ll do one-on-one within your position. It just brings out that competition, that competitive edge. One training I’ll have to kick against Mitchy [Hunt] or Bryn [Gatland], or Ash [Dixon] will have to throw against Coltsy [Coltman],” Ioane explained.
“The old boys definitively don’t like the young boys getting those ones.
Josh Ioane would compete with Lima Sopoaga in goal kicking challenges that became unbearable if he lost, with the experienced All Black making it known to the younger challenger he had lost.
“Lima definitely helped me with my goal kicking. But we were versing each other nearly every day, or at least every week. If you lost to him… you’d almost rather miss a kick in a game than lose to Lima because his chat after… I’d go home and just be like ‘man, I want to smack him.'”
“One training, it came down to the last kick between me and Lima, I had to get it to tie it.
“This was after training, he gets all boys, ‘boys, boys, come look at Josh miss, come look at Josh miss’. So all the older boys start running over, you know Elliot Dixon, they want to put this pressure on this young buck that’s just come in.
“And then Lima’s yelling, ‘Azza, did you really sign this guy, he can’t even kick?’.
“I don’t think I hit that kick, I was like ‘ohhh’, it was hard to make. Those sort of things, those are like game day actions. At the time, it’s a lot of pressure but it makes you better for the game.
When Ioane first got the chance to train with the Highlanders as an injury replacement for a week, he wanted to make the most of it and sought out Sopoaga to seek his advice on how to learn his trade as a goal kicker.
“When I first came in with the Highlanders as an injury replacement I thought I’d only be in for a week. I really wanted to learn how to goal kick, so for that week I learnt, I went to Lima and said ‘can you teach me how to kick?’
“He taught me, gave me a few things, and then the very first competition we had, the same day I asked him, I won the first one.
“I was a little bit embarrassed because I didn’t really know him and he had just given me all this help and I won. Then he wouldn’t let me leave, he was like ‘nah, double or nothing’ for a coffee and a muffin, and I won again.
“I didn’t want to win. At this stage, I didn’t want to win. I didn’t know him and he’d given me all these tips and I won again I was like ‘oh no’.”
“The next day he rocks in, he gives me a coffee and a muffin, and he’s like ‘we’re going again today’. I think he won the next 15, 16 competitions.
“He’s just in your ear, he’ll get his phone out and video you, he’s a sore loser, I’ll tell you that!”
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments