Ioane to face Sunwolves at 12
Big match in Japan as Blues look for second win of 2018
There will be more scrutiny than ever on the Blues in Tokyo tomorrow as they attempt to do something they couldn’t last year and beat the Sunwolves for only their second win of the season.
And, if it all goes wrong again, there will be scrutiny on coach Tana Umaga’s decision to select Rieko Ioane — a player he sees as the best wing in the world — at 12.
Umaga’s hand has been forced to a large extent, but questions remain. Sonny Bill Williams is the incumbent second-five but has missed the last two matches with a hand injury, and such is the injury toll among the Blues backline that two players are making their debuts — centre Orbyn Leger and right wing Jordan Hyland. to the midfield, but has looked better at centre than second-five, where he plays for the second time this season.
It is believed Umaga thinks Ioane can easily make the switch between the Blues midfield and the All Blacks wing, and there is no doubt the Blues look a better team when he has the ball in his hands, but there are few better in the game than Ioane at beating players on the outside and it would be a waste of his talents to see him resorting to a crash-and-bash type game.
In Ioane’s favour is the fact that the Sunwolves are unlikely to bring the defensive line speed pressure of the New Zealand teams but the margins for error at this level are small and the Japanese team’s Kiwi coach Jamie Joseph will know exactly where to target the Blues. It is one more intriguing element to a match the Blues cannot afford to lose.