Ioane says belief is building
All of Rieko Ioane’s emotions, all of his frustrations, all of his delight came bursting out when he scored a sensational opening try to light the fuse on the Blues’ momentous victory over the Highlanders at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday night.
Then, after a futility streaksnapping 33-26 victory over the southerners that finally brushed that silverback gorilla off their back, the classy All Blacks wing unfurled the relief that, finally, the Blues had managed to close out a knife-edge Kiwi derby.
It had been a long time coming. The Blues hadn’t beaten a Kiwi rival in Super Rugby since before Ioane was first called into the squad as a precocious teen. Now he’s the best wing in the world, they’ve snapped that winless streak at 20 (all the way back to round one of 2016) and you could just see the belief it engendered among a group long on talent, but so often short on stickability and the clutch gene.
‘‘We know that’s the second week in a row we’ve been tested right to the 80, and this time in different circumstances to have to come from behind and win . . . it builds the belief,’’ said Ioane, who confirmed the Kiwi derby drought had been a big part of the Blues’ motivation this week.
‘‘It’s big to know we can do it and in those pressure moments we can win it, rather than what we have been doing which is giving away easy penalties and losing the game that way.
‘‘To really build pressure through big phases and finally come away with the try, and the win, it’s awesome. The group morale is pretty high.’’
Ioane played a big part in the victory. A monster role, truth be told.
The first of his two tries was a belter from 50 metres out when he steamed on to ball off a lineout win, sliced through a hole around the Highlanders pack and then made mincemeat of Waisake Naholo at the back with a stunning piece of footwork.
It was electrifying, it was belief-building . . . it was Ioane at his absolute best as he took his try tally eventually – with a finish of a Melani Nanai break later in the first half – to six in two weeks with a double to go with last week’s quartet.
‘‘He’s world class,’’ Blues coach Leon MacDonald said of his inspirational 22-year-old strikeforce who has quickly become a leader of his young group.
‘‘Not only is he fast but he’s powerful, and he’s got an eye for the line. He’s playing good rugby. What’s that? Six tries in two weeks . . . not bad for a winger.’’
Ioane was asked about a flamboyant celebration after his opening score. His explanation perfectly summed up the simmering excitement building in this franchise desperate to shake off its perennial doormat status.
‘‘We haven’t put on a decent performance on at home for a while. That Crusaders opener was all right, but we were pretty bummed out abut the result. That [the emotional release] was a bit of everything . . . the last couple of weeks, the week we had with Christchurch and what not, and the monkey off our back all came out in that try celebration.
‘‘It was a bit over the top, but I’m happy.’’
Most satisfying of all for Ioane was the manner in which the Blues notched the go-ahead try to Patrick Tuipulotu in the 73rd minute.
It was achieved with patience, with perseverance and, most of all, with power.
‘‘Inside that kill zone, inside the 40-metre area, we haven’t been converting points. The big focus this week was about holding and applying pressure that way. We’re an impatient team at times and expect to score straight off first or second phase.
‘‘If we can learn to nail down that hard yakka, go three or four phases, then build the pressure, it will come. Patty’s try was a result of that.’’
Now, says Ioane, it’s about coming back and repeating the dose against the Stormers back at the Garden of Eden on Saturday night.
‘‘It’s a new experience and this week will be a bit different to how we’d usually be feeling and how we’d usually prepare. But it’s only one win. It’s all part of the process. We’ve got our goals and this is a huge step towards that. But we’ve got to go again next week.’’
Ioane also had some high praise for backfield mate Melani Nanai, who also unleashed a superb display, exploding for a game-high 122 metres on nine runs, with three clean breaks and six defenders beaten.
The All Black even hinted it was the sort of performance that might draw interest from the national coaches in the Blues fullback who is bound for Worcester at the end of the year.
‘‘Melani is the best gamebreaker we have in Super Rugby. His footwork is arguably the best in the world, especially in that close quarter stuff. Running lines off him is always going to be a field day for anyone outside because he creates so much pressure and so much attention.
‘‘Melani has been playing awesome, and if he would have stuck around, and even still, he might be knocking on that All Blacks door.’’