It’s 2025 and the All Blacks think that Rieko Ioane is their best option the No.11 jersey. Scott Robertson and the selectors have done a disservice to him.
Quite simply, Ioane isn’t a winger anymore. He didn’t play wing at all during Super Rugby Pacific, and hasn’t for years, but now we expect him to turn up in black and play there.
Given the chance to finish in the corner, he will deliver, but there is more to wing than that. There were signs during the July series against France this wouldn’t work when his kick chase was non-existent.
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Beauden Barrett put a daring little cross-kick across into his path in Dunedin against France, only for Ioane to watch it bounce into touch oblivious to the fact that his first five was putting a golden opportunity on his plate. It was a high risk, high reward option coming out of the All Blacks’ 22.
After the error-ridden Cordoba Test, it is clear he’s not the best option. There are signs he’s a touch off the pace in just about every facet of playing wing. And that is no surprise.
He spent five years transitioning to centre, becoming the cornerstone of the Blues and All Blacks midfield. Defensively he was sound, underrated on that side of the ball and produced his fair share of great defensive moments despite the lack of big attacking plays.
The Blues midfielder is 28-years-old, a year past the typical used by date of many All Black wings before him who often age-out at 27. On the right side Sevu Reece is also 28, but he’s also in the form of his life and has been at the Crusaders for the last two seasons. That form is showing with the All Blacks and justifies the selection.
Ioane will be 30 by the 2027 Rugby World Cup. It’s hard to argue there is a future for him as a winger at that point in time. Even Reece will be a year-by-year selection by then.
So the question becomes, what is the point of this? It feels like a set-up to watch him fail, because he’s certainly not set-up for success after playing centre for five years.
The best New Zealand winger in Super Rugby Pacific this year was Leroy Carter. On the end of the Chiefs backline the All Blacks Sevens rep bagged nine tries and highlighted his tackle-breaking ability time and time again.
Crafted in the shorter format for years, Carter is a superb athlete. Robertson also revealed that he is statistically speaking the fastest player in New Zealand. If that is true it is a no brainer. Fastest man and the form wing in the country? Get him on the field in the 11 jersey.
He’s not your typical rookie having cut his teeth in sevens. He’s come up against some of the best athletes in the sport and had to handle them one-on-one in large open fields. He’s got a rounded game from the sevens format, being strong over the ball at the ruck, powerful in contact and with offloading skills on attack. He’s a power wing by trade, the exact type of wing the All Blacks like on the left wing.
This isn’t just searching for a shiny new toy thing. Carter is a bit older than the likes of Caleb Tangitau, who burst onto the scene with the Highlanders this season before injury struck. Tangitau needs more experience, Carter has it.
If Caleb Clarke has lost his role on the left wing due to form, why can’t Carter be picked because of form? Because Clarke was as good as any All Black in 2024 and there was no reason to stop picking him on the wing, other than an indifferent season with the Blues where he didn’t get the ball and didn’t score tries.
Ioane is a midfielder and either needs to play at 13 or rotate out and watch Billy Proctor play at 13.
Proctor himself needs time in the saddle, it’s too early to call time on his starting tenure. He is doing some good things that aren’t going to get noticed. His tackling completion needs to improve at this level, but he is making good reads often.
Between Ioane and Proctor the All Blacks have two decent centres to work with, but it is clear now that Ioane is not a wing anymore and there are better options out there.