Ioane sends out warning to Exiles rivals
TOUGH-tackling London Irish flanker TJ Ioane believes he and his Samoan band of brothers will hit their twin targets of achieving Championship and World Cup success.
Ioane, 29, has stepped down a level after leaving Sale. However, the blitzkrieg back rower is delighted to have joined forces with fellow Samoans Ofisa Treviranus, Motu Matu’u and Filo Paulo as the ‘fabulous four’ begin their fight for club and country.
Ioane said: “It’s been a good transition because I know Ofisa, Motu and Filo from playing together with Samoa and it’s nice they’re all forwards.
“At Sale we had Johnny Leota and Denny Solomona, but they were backs so it’s great to be working in the same unit as the Samoan boys and they’re awesome players.
“Ofisa, Motu and I had a busy summer with Samoa, with the Pacific Nations Cup being followed by the World Cup qualifiers against Germany. But it was enjoyable and now we’re back at Irish with the intention of getting this club into the Premiership.”
Ioane added: “I talked to (forwards coach) George Skivington and he sold me the culture at Irish. It’s a very ambitious club and I wanted to be part of it.
“The loose forward trio is a big strength of ours with the players we’ve got. The depth is incredible with guys like Ofisa, Blair Cowan, Josh McNally, Matt Rogerson, Jake Schatz, Mike Coman and myself around and everybody is capable of starting.
“As you saw against Ealing last week, there’s a really positive mindset.”
While promotion with Irish is the immediate priority, Ioane added: “The World Cup is in the back of everyone’s minds and during the qualifiers against Germany you appreciated what it means for your family and your people to be part of that.
“They were important games, not just for the players but for the whole country, and for anyone with international ambitions the World Cup is huge.”
Before their play-off victories over Germany, Samoa’s players had to endure the rantings of their nation’s president, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who accused the players of having “no guts” and insisted they should resign if they lost.
Ioane said: “It’s like when your dad critiques your game, you take it with a pinch of salt.
“You take the learnings, take the positives and just try to better yourself.”