How All Blacks Sevens prepared Rieko Ioane for Test rugby stardom

Rieko Ioane is an All Black who fans either love to support or love to hate. With Ioane boasting intense passion, determination, and an unwavering sense of self-belief, it’s no surprise that the established All Black has emerged as a leader within the national team’s squad.

But before all the fame, pressure and expectation that comes with being an All Black, Ioane announced himself to the rugby world with some stunning performances on what is now known as the HSBC SVNS Series.

Ioane debuted for the All Blacks Svens as a 17-year-old in 2015, and he went on to represent Team New Zealand at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Other All Blacks have followed a similar path, with Ma’a Nonu, Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea also plying their trade on the sevens circuit.

Kwagga Smith, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe were three representatives from the 2023 world champion Springboks who also played for the Blitzboks. It’s a popular pathway for players coming through the ranks, and it can set them up for greatness as it did with Ioane.

As a teenager, Ioane took the field alongside the likes of Tim Mikkelson, Scott Curry, Gillies Kaka, Joe Webber and Sam Dickson. Many New Zealanders had at least heard murmurs about the Auckland Grammar School product, but fans were left stunned by the freakish talent’s ability.

With top-level speed that was right up there with the best, fast feet and a brilliant read of the game, Ioane quickly emerged as one of the players to watch on the Series. Ioane scored six tries on debut as New Zealand went on to win the Wellington Sevens in February 2015.

The following year, Ioane won the All Blacks Sevens Player of the Year honour at the New Zealand Rugby Awards in December. It seemed Ioane was always destined for greatness.

“It definitely set me up for Super,” Ioane told RugbyPass before September’s opening Bledisloe Cup Test in Sydney.

“I definitely struggled on the physical side of things first coming in. I was decent enough on attack and sort of let my speed take me and help me out quite a bit. I’d let them run past and then sort of scrag onto them.

 

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“It took me a full season of sevens to get used to that physicality and playing men. I didn’t realise until later how much that impacted and how much that helped me coming into Super but it’s such a huge step up.”

There are countless highlight reels online of a young Ioane playing sevens.

It was incredible to see the generational talent show so much poise, confidence and skill on the international sevens circuit, while playing against grown men who had been playing that format for quite some time.

 

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As well as Dickson, Webber and the others mentioned above, Ioane also played with brother Akira. Akira, who also went on to play for the All Blacks, was frighteningly good as the forward showed impressive speed and destructive levels of strength.

“He was obviously a lot bigger than me, even back then, and he embraced that sort of physicality and that was right up his alley,” Ioane reflected.

“Being a bigger boy, he was big even amongst those men, even being so young.

“But look, Aki paved the way for me and showed me that it was possible so that sort of gave me that confidence coming into that sevens environment.”

Before taking out the All Blacks Sevens Player Year Award, Ioane had debuted for the All Blacks about one month earlier against Italy. That was the start of a truly special international rugby career which has since spanned more than 75 Tests and 37 tries.

Ioane has established himself as a key member within the All Blacks’ setup, with coach Scott Robertson regularly selecting the 27-year-old to start alongside Jordie Barrett in the midfield. It seems highly likely that will be the case once again against Ireland on Friday night.

This week was always going to be about Ioane.

He’s Ireland’s “pantomime villain.”

It was revealed last month that, in an extract of Johnny Sexton’s autobiography, the former Ireland captain had reflected on an alleged interaction between the pair after last year’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final at Stade de France which was won by New Zealand.

Sexton wrote that Ioane had said, “Don’t miss your flight home tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c**t.” There were other words shared between the pair, and the discourse surrounding that interaction began to dominate headlines about a month ago.

While it seems there could be some chatter bout this once again as the tension continues to build before the Test, Ioane opened up in September about what pressure is generally like as an All Black.

Having been a professional rugby player for so long, Ioane has learnt a lot. It’s all outside noise as the All Black went on to discuss.

“With experience and years under your belt, that pressure and that outside noise dwindles down and you know I’m only focused on my team and the opinions of my close circles,” he said.

“I feel as though you begin to, as well as cope better with outside pressure and everything going on, you only tend to focus really – mum and dad’s opinion will be the only ones that count. They’re the ones that get through.

“Obviously the opinion of my teammates and my coaches I hold dearly.

“If It’s pressure from them I know it’s coming from a good place but I’ve learned to block out as much as I can and just focus on being myself when I’m in here and when I’m not a rugby player, I like to detach myself.”