HIS LONG-TIME ALL Blacks team-mate left Leinster with a URC winner’s medal, and Rieko Ioane is hoping to do the same.
Ioane was a step closer to Champions Cup glory than Jordie Barrett, but both of them have now tasted the bitterness of defeat in that competition.
One of the reasons that 29-year-old Ioane joined Leinster this season, rather than having a sabbatical in Japanese club rugby, was to play in the biggest games, so he was excited to be part of last weekend’s clash with Bordeaux in Bilbao.
Ioane doesn’t have the same Champions Cup final baggage that most of this Leinster team do, but the loss still hurt. He has a simple view of what went wrong.
“That’s footy and that’s finals,” said Ioane. “There has to be a winner and a loser.
“I think just the opportunities in that first half, you know, our opportunities on defence that we didn’t execute, and then again in the second half when we got our entries into the 22, we just couldn’t convert those into points.
“So that’ll be a big focus for us but we got a harsh review, and now we have regrouped and refocused onto the Lions.”
Ioane was on the left wing last weekend but he moves back into the number 13 shirt today for Leinster’s URC quarter-final clash with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium [KO 8pm, TG4/Premier Sports].
The majority of Ioane’s appearances for Leinster have come at outside centre, and he hopes to make an impact as he takes on the unusual situation of going from a big final into the quarter-final of another competition.
He said it’s important that Leinster now retain the trophy they hold.
“This is all new to me,” said Ioane. “So it definitely was a bit weird after just losing and training out there again, but having to be at such a high level because it’s a quarter-final again on Saturday.
“We definitely want silverware. That’s how legacies are created and that’s something that we want to do. We want to enhance the legacy here at Leinster.”
Ioane after the Champions Cup final. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
It remains to be seen what kind of legacy Ioane himself leaves after his single season with the Irish province.
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He arrived after the November Tests this season and has featured regularly since, with today being his 16th appearance for Leinster.
When he was asked if he feels like things have clicked for him in more recent months, Ioane wasn’t sure how to answer.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to get me to say here,” he answered, before it was put to him that his form improved over the course of the campaign.
“With anything, things take time,” said Ioane.
“It wasn’t like we were losing a whole heap of matches. At the end of the day, we still made finals and we’re still making finals.
“So, yeah, look, on an individual, I’ll probably leave that up to the coaches and not so much myself. If I get picked to play, I get picked to play. I’ve been pretty happy with my form.”
And Ioane said he has loved his time living in Dublin. His fiancée was with him at the start of the adventure, staying until Christmas before heading back to Auckland to take care of their home and pets.
His father, former Samoa international Eddie, visited when Leinster beat Edinburgh and Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup knock-out stages.
“It’s been awesome,” said Ioane. “I’ve loved coming into this team and this environment. It’s been very refreshing from where I’d come from back home.
“I’m definitely going to be sad when I leave, but also I look forward to getting home and seeing my family and being around my friends and a bit more of an environment that’s familiar to me, but I’ve loved every moment.”
Ioane said he would definitely recommend Leinster to any other All Blacks thinking of doing something similar in the future, but he didn’t reveal which Kiwi mates had been in touch with him about the province.
He confirmed that he hasn’t met up with Johnny Sexton during his time in Ireland, smiling at the suggestion, but he has enjoyed getting to know the Leinster players, who he says have made him feel welcome.
Ioane and Sam Prendergast at the Dublin v Westmeath game. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
He has been to visit Kildare with Sam Prendergast, who also took him to see the Leinster senior football championship final between Dublin and Westmeath at Croke Park earlier this month.
“I got picked up by Sammy. Robbie [Henshaw] texted about who I was going for, and he said he’s supporting Westmeath So the first colours that were handed to me were a maroon and white band. It was great craic. It was very good, very good.
“Didn’t know whether I’d enjoy going to a game. I didn’t think I was going to last the whole game, but it ended up being a real good game. So I was loving it by the end. My first one. I need to get to a hurling game as well before I leave. So that’s on the calendar.”
His favourite pub so far is the Blue Light in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains.
“Just having proper Guinness in front of such a great view,” said Ioane. “It reminds me of Queenstown.”
Once the URC campaign is done and dusted, Ioane will be heading home to New Zealand.
With the World Cup looming next year, he hopes to build on his 88 Test caps as Dave Rennie gets the new All Blacks era underway. New Zealand host Ireland in Eden Park in July, which would be a nice fixture for him to be involved in.
Ioane doesn’t know Rennie well, but he’s hoping that this stint in Ireland will help him reignite his Test career after falling out of favour at the end of the Scott Robertson reign.
“Here’s hoping,” said Ioane. “Look, you play such a high-level competition, both competitions, they are there to set you up and help you perform better and have that experience of bigger games, which you might not get as many of back at home.
“Whereas here you are getting into the mix with the French, you are getting Irish, Scottish teams, and it’s all been very different whereas at home you are playing the same teams I played against and for so many years. So again, you are getting that experience has been great, and it should be positive moving forward.
But all Leinster fans will care about is Ioane making a big impact against the Lions today.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris (captain).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Thomas Clarkson, Diarmuid Mangan, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne, Robbie Henshaw.
LIONS: Quan Horn; Angelo Davids, Henco van Wyk, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje; Chris Smith, Nico Steyn; SJ Kotze, PJ Botha, Sebastian Lombard; Reinhard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg; Siba Mahashe, Batho Hlekani, Francke Horn (captain).
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'I've loved coming into this Leinster team and this environment'
HIS LONG-TIME ALL Blacks team-mate left Leinster with a URC winner’s medal, and Rieko Ioane is hoping to do the same.
Ioane was a step closer to Champions Cup glory than Jordie Barrett, but both of them have now tasted the bitterness of defeat in that competition.
One of the reasons that 29-year-old Ioane joined Leinster this season, rather than having a sabbatical in Japanese club rugby, was to play in the biggest games, so he was excited to be part of last weekend’s clash with Bordeaux in Bilbao.
Ioane doesn’t have the same Champions Cup final baggage that most of this Leinster team do, but the loss still hurt. He has a simple view of what went wrong.
“That’s footy and that’s finals,” said Ioane. “There has to be a winner and a loser.
“I think just the opportunities in that first half, you know, our opportunities on defence that we didn’t execute, and then again in the second half when we got our entries into the 22, we just couldn’t convert those into points.
“So that’ll be a big focus for us but we got a harsh review, and now we have regrouped and refocused onto the Lions.”
Ioane was on the left wing last weekend but he moves back into the number 13 shirt today for Leinster’s URC quarter-final clash with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium [KO 8pm, TG4/Premier Sports].
The majority of Ioane’s appearances for Leinster have come at outside centre, and he hopes to make an impact as he takes on the unusual situation of going from a big final into the quarter-final of another competition.
He said it’s important that Leinster now retain the trophy they hold.
“This is all new to me,” said Ioane. “So it definitely was a bit weird after just losing and training out there again, but having to be at such a high level because it’s a quarter-final again on Saturday.
“We definitely want silverware. That’s how legacies are created and that’s something that we want to do. We want to enhance the legacy here at Leinster.”
It remains to be seen what kind of legacy Ioane himself leaves after his single season with the Irish province.
He arrived after the November Tests this season and has featured regularly since, with today being his 16th appearance for Leinster.
When he was asked if he feels like things have clicked for him in more recent months, Ioane wasn’t sure how to answer.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to get me to say here,” he answered, before it was put to him that his form improved over the course of the campaign.
“With anything, things take time,” said Ioane.
“It wasn’t like we were losing a whole heap of matches. At the end of the day, we still made finals and we’re still making finals.
“So, yeah, look, on an individual, I’ll probably leave that up to the coaches and not so much myself. If I get picked to play, I get picked to play. I’ve been pretty happy with my form.”
And Ioane said he has loved his time living in Dublin. His fiancée was with him at the start of the adventure, staying until Christmas before heading back to Auckland to take care of their home and pets.
His father, former Samoa international Eddie, visited when Leinster beat Edinburgh and Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup knock-out stages.
“It’s been awesome,” said Ioane. “I’ve loved coming into this team and this environment. It’s been very refreshing from where I’d come from back home.
“I’m definitely going to be sad when I leave, but also I look forward to getting home and seeing my family and being around my friends and a bit more of an environment that’s familiar to me, but I’ve loved every moment.”
Ioane said he would definitely recommend Leinster to any other All Blacks thinking of doing something similar in the future, but he didn’t reveal which Kiwi mates had been in touch with him about the province.
He confirmed that he hasn’t met up with Johnny Sexton during his time in Ireland, smiling at the suggestion, but he has enjoyed getting to know the Leinster players, who he says have made him feel welcome.
He has been to visit Kildare with Sam Prendergast, who also took him to see the Leinster senior football championship final between Dublin and Westmeath at Croke Park earlier this month.
“I got picked up by Sammy. Robbie [Henshaw] texted about who I was going for, and he said he’s supporting Westmeath So the first colours that were handed to me were a maroon and white band. It was great craic. It was very good, very good.
“Didn’t know whether I’d enjoy going to a game. I didn’t think I was going to last the whole game, but it ended up being a real good game. So I was loving it by the end. My first one. I need to get to a hurling game as well before I leave. So that’s on the calendar.”
His favourite pub so far is the Blue Light in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains.
“Just having proper Guinness in front of such a great view,” said Ioane. “It reminds me of Queenstown.”
Once the URC campaign is done and dusted, Ioane will be heading home to New Zealand.
With the World Cup looming next year, he hopes to build on his 88 Test caps as Dave Rennie gets the new All Blacks era underway. New Zealand host Ireland in Eden Park in July, which would be a nice fixture for him to be involved in.
Ioane doesn’t know Rennie well, but he’s hoping that this stint in Ireland will help him reignite his Test career after falling out of favour at the end of the Scott Robertson reign.
“Here’s hoping,” said Ioane. “Look, you play such a high-level competition, both competitions, they are there to set you up and help you perform better and have that experience of bigger games, which you might not get as many of back at home.
“Whereas here you are getting into the mix with the French, you are getting Irish, Scottish teams, and it’s all been very different whereas at home you are playing the same teams I played against and for so many years. So again, you are getting that experience has been great, and it should be positive moving forward.
But all Leinster fans will care about is Ioane making a big impact against the Lions today.
LEINSTER: Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Rieko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Luke McGrath; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Max Deegan, Scott Penny, Caelan Doris (captain).
Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Alex Usanov, Thomas Clarkson, Diarmuid Mangan, Josh van der Flier, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne, Robbie Henshaw.
LIONS: Quan Horn; Angelo Davids, Henco van Wyk, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje; Chris Smith, Nico Steyn; SJ Kotze, PJ Botha, Sebastian Lombard; Reinhard Nothnagel, Darrien Landsberg; Siba Mahashe, Batho Hlekani, Francke Horn (captain).
Replacements: Franco Marais, Eddie Davids, RF Schoeman, Ruan Delport, Siba Qoma, JC Pretorius, Rynhard Jonker, Haashim Pead.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU).
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Final Chapter Ioane Leinster Lions Rieko URC