{"id":43613,"date":"2025-04-23T10:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T10:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/43613\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T10:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T10:44:13","slug":"ex-ireland-player-predicts-a-positional-switch-for-rieko-ioane-at-leinster-planet-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/43613\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Ireland player predicts a positional switch for Rieko Ioane at Leinster : Planet Rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Ireland midfielder Gordon D\u2019Arcy has predicted that Ricko Ioane\u2019s \u201cpremium value\u201d at Leinster might not be experienced in the outside centre role he currently fills for the All Blacks and the Blues.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the commentary generated by last week\u2019s shock transfer announcement<\/a> focused on Ioane\u2019s infamous Rugby World Cup verbal spat with Johnny Sexton and how rugby fans in Ireland might struggle to warm to his shock recruitment by Leo Cullen.<\/p>\n

The retired D\u2019Arcy, though, has taken a different approach with the Ioane story, using his latest Irish Times column<\/a> to query whether the All Black would be a good on-field fit at Leinster<\/a>. He didn\u2019t completely ignore Ioane\u2019s X-rated comments to Sexton at full-time in the 2023 quarter-final in Paris, explaining his very different take on what was sledged.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy take on the verbals was that Ireland\u2019s status in the global game had altered to a point where the old establishment could no longer ignore our credentials,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn the era in which I played we were viewed as the plucky but annoying underdogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe New Zealand supporters<\/a> could be hard to stomach at times, patronising and condescending. It was impossible to escape the feeling that the sentiments expressed were hollow, that we were being damned by faint praise in our role as spirited losers. It fuelled a burning desire to get a result just to be able to shove it back in their faces.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ioane is a big personality\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy Farrell\u2019s side had managed to ruffle the feathers among the old-world order, and I feel that some of that sentiment was contained in Ioane\u2019s post-match outburst. Did we get carried away? Absolutely, but I\u2019d also argue that we finally managed to change the way in which other teams viewed Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

D\u2019Arcy then moved on to assess Ioane\u2019s playing ability, suggesting he will feature on the wing at Leinster when he arrives in Dublin in late November following an All Blacks tour that includes a fixture against Ireland in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Rieko Ioane move exposes New Zealand\u2019s \u2018weird obsession\u2019 with Ireland as All Blacks great makes Leinster promise<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIoane is a big personality. That comes across in the way he plays and how he carries himself. This is a characteristic that may have drawn Leinster to him, as well as being an 80-plus Test match veteran at 28 years of age,\u201d D\u2019Arcy outlined.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy immediate reaction to his signing was less about his spat with Sexton, more about whether he would be a good fit for Leinster. My initial reference point was to directly compare his potential impact with the one Jordie Barrett is making.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarrett has been brilliant, brought a genuine second playmaker option in addition to his physical attributes, which have long been plain to see for anyone following his career. Ioane is not primarily a playmaker; in fact he is under pressure in New Zealand for his lack of those playmaking skills in the 13 channel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis does not make him a bad player or a poor signing. He is a different player from Barrett so it would be foolish to expect the same style of play and end product. Ioane was originally a winger before moving to the centre, and his main attributes are pace and power, a very dangerous combination that he has retained as his main modus operandi in the centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was not required to reinvent himself in that positional switch because he was the right player in the right position for the All Blacks at that time. However, I feel the role of centres has evolved in the last few years, requiring a change in style.\u201d<\/p>\n

How so? \u201cOutside centre has always been a pivotal position in setting up a team to attack. A creative set of hands is again a requirement to play at the highest level. Ioane\u2019s qualities remain obvious for all to see, but as styles evolve, his premium value may be more keenly felt one channel farther out. I would not be surprised at all to see Ioane get some minutes on the wing in the coming season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe New Zealander\u2019s value, similar to that of Barrett, will come in the later stages of next season and it is on that contribution he will be judged. A reckoning will be made as to whether he was the right player, in the right place, at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/strong>: \u2018URC is a very, very low level\u2019 \u2013 Ex-All Blacks would bench Jordie Barrett as he must \u2018prove himself\u2019 again<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Ireland midfielder Gordon D\u2019Arcy has predicted that Ricko Ioane\u2019s \u201cpremium value\u201d at Leinster might not be experienced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4102],"tags":[24267,225,522,4306,704,12,4151,79,16,15,4510],"class_list":["post-43613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-gordon-d","tag-home-page","tag-international","tag-leinster","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-rugby-championship"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114386873537298866","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}