All Blacks v Wales: How Rieko Ioane turned a career detour into a comeback

The second Ioane moment came on the field when he scored two stunning tries in a man-of-the-match performance that enabled the All Blacks to finally put a stubborn Welsh side away.

It capped an incredible debut international season for Ioane (he had won his first cap in late 2016) in which he was nominated as both breakthrough player of the year and player of the year and probably should have won both rather than just the former.

He was just 20, as quick as anyone the All Blacks had ever fielded on the wing, but with explosive power, timing, anticipation and the sharpest natural instincts to see where opportunity lay.

He scored 10 tries in 11 tests and it was obvious he had everything he needed to be a global superstar.

But nine years on he’s coming back to Cardiff almost as Ioane 2.0 – the potential he showed in 2017 never quite fulfilled.

His career detoured in 2020 when he switched to playing centre and then it stalled – almost stopped – last year under All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, who couldn’t make his mind up about what to do with Ioane.

Robertson had been troubled at the way Blues coach Vern Cotter had used Ioane to exclusively crash into defenders in 2024 and 2025 and he felt that it had stunted his growth and reduced his ability to be the distributing midfielder the All Blacks needed.

There’s no real need to get lost in the details, however; the point being Ioane lost his form and became unsure whether he was a centre or wing or both.

Two things, though, have conspired to deliver a third miracle for Ioane. He had a rejuvenating sabbatical in Ireland this year and then came home to find that Robertson was out and Dave Rennie in.

The six months he spent with Leinster deserve greater credit than perhaps they have been given to date for redirecting Ioane. He says his time in Ireland forced him to adapt his personality to suit the situation and that he came home with a newfound maturity.

“I think it’s just having an appreciation for different parts of the world and how you respond to different environments.

“If you look at it from the outside looking in, my personality and the way I am, it’s so much different to what they had in Ireland.

“It was about not trying to stick out or stand out but just bring my own flavour and also respecting their cultures, their team values, that’s something that I felt was what I did, and yeah, it felt good.”

The way he says it, there is a hint that he feels that he sticks out when he’s with his home club, the Blues.

“Well, I think it’s different because I’m one of the most experienced Blues players, so in terms of that, then I have to speak and I have to lead by example, and be a personality.

“I feel like we have a lot of similar personalities because we’re in Auckland, and we do buy into that city boy, big city life. Which is why I find my personality would be a lot more similar to a lot of the players at the Blues, whereas in Ireland, it’s not.”

When he arrived in Dublin, he also had to deal with the fact that at the 2023 World Cup, as the All Blacks were shaking hands with the Irish players after defeating them in the quarter-final, he said, sarcastically, to captain Johnny Sexton: “Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you ***t.”

Sexton, who was a Leinster legend, blew the story up in his autobiography, admitting that he was enraged by the comment and went on to mock the All Blacks for their famed “no dickheads” policy.

When Ioane signed to play for Leinster, it seemed not an odd choice, but an ill-advised one given the history. But he laughs at the memory of all that drama and says: “Look, it was a bit of a shock when the opportunity came up, and I had to weigh up all that sort of stuff. But in terms of rugby itself, it was a huge opportunity.

“I just knew it would be good for me. And everyone was like, ‘oh, blah, blah, blah. You know, you should just go somewhere else’.

“But ego aside, it turned out to be a good move for my career. It just happens on field, you know. If they miked up everyone, I’m sure everyone would have a story against every other team.”

Still, this was an exchange that made front page news and helped Sexton sell his book, and a little harder to laugh off as the sort of thing that happens all the time, but the media don’t know about it.

So the question has to be asked again – was it awkward when he arrived at Leinster? “Yeah, look, I imagine if someone said something to me and then they signed with the Blues …

“It would be a feeling-out process for the first couple of days. But after that, nah, the boys were good and I enjoyed all of them.

“They all like a bit of craic and banter. There was not so much at the start, but as we got closer as teammates and as boys, that’s when the banter came out. It was all in good fun and it was good spirits and both parties got over it pretty quickly.”

There were mixed reviews about how he played for Leinster and he wasn’t picked in the All Blacks squad for the July tests. But he was recalled for the tour of South Africa and looked like his old self on the hard grounds.

He was leaner and had that hunger to get his hands on the ball and run with it. After a couple of appearances in the club games, there were media types backing him to crack the test team.

Rennie suggested he was still a way behind fellow veteran Anton Lienert-Brown in the pecking order because he didn’t have the same defensive presence.

But the general message from Rennie was that Ioane is a player of significant interest again – someone with the attacking skill sets that suits their game.

And the respect is mutual. Ioane, having never enjoyed the Robertson era, says he’s happy again.

“[I’m a] A lot more refreshed and clear would be two words happy as well, happy yes, but more so refreshed and clear

“Looking back a year now from how we finished in Wales, the team was in a different situation than we are now.”

Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.

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