Versatile Ioane deserves to make the cut
THE more I think about it, the more it becomes clear that the All Blacks selectors surely can’t leave Rieko Ioane out of their backline mix to face the British and Irish Lions.
There is a logjam of contenders in the midfield and back three as Steve Hansen, Ian Foster and Grant Fox nail down their squad of 33 that will be named on Thursday to prepare for those three monumental tests against the Lions.
In the midfield you could lock in Anton Lienert-Brown and Sonny Bill Williams with the likes of Ioane, Malakai Fekitoa, George Moala and in-form Hurricanes Ngani Laumape and Vince Aso coming into the discussion, especially with Ryan Crotty likely to miss the series with the rib injury he sustained yesterday.
Ioane also slides between midfield and back three, which is where his star begins to shine.
The 20-year-old has been used mainly on the wing by the Blues in 2017 after starting out at centre. He has been impressive there, too, scoring 10 tries and being comfortably the team’s most consistent line-breaker and finisher.
The All Blacks coaches see Ioane as a potential test centre in the long term but while he’s learning his trade they’re more than comfortable with using him on the wing.
He has excellent size, good speed and the right sort of temperament for the test arena.
Don’t be surprised to see Ioane, a tourist last November, among the 15 backs likely to be chosen on Thursday.
He is an ideal No 23, sitting on that bench, covering midfield and wing, and ready to enter the fray and use those young legs, powerful frame and deceptive speed to change the game.
When the selectors make up their squad, they start with a game-day 23, then add the necessary players to provide the backup required. Ioane fits perfectly into that final backs reserve slot.
What else to look for come Thursday?
Look for cover to be named for hooker Dane Coles and loosie Liam Squire while maybe Steven Luatua sneaks in to the loose forward mix and Matt Todd misses out, with three No 7s just too much of a luxury.