There is little dispute that Leinster-bound Rieko Ioane has recently struggled for form under All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
That said one of the outstanding All Blacks players over the last 10 years is still in Robertson’s thinking for Test match rugby and is in Chicago this week.
However, in the centre or on the wing, Ioane has not been the potent force he once was and in September Robertson dropped him for a Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies at Eden Park.
A regular figure since he made his debut as a teenager against the British and Irish Lions in 2017, not being picked for the matchday squad was a rare snub for a rare talent.
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Robertson, who has been a supporter of Ioane, was careful not to say too much about sidelining the then 86-times capped 28-year-old.
“He’s played 80-odd Tests. He’s not far away,” said Robertson. “We’ve given another player an opportunity. My job is to build depth in the team and it’s Leroy’s [Carter] chance.”
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Ioane subsequently came off the bench in New Zealand’s final game of this year’s Rugby Championship, replacing outside centre Quinn Tupaea, who scored two first-half tries before departing.
But Ioane was not involved in New Zealand’s biggest game of the series against South Africa, which they lost by a record margin, 10-43. For that pivotal match Carter started on the left wing and Billy Proctor was outside centre.
In the Windy City, Ioane is part of the All Blacks squad with no less than seven other listed outside backs and wings jockeying to find a place in the matchday 23 to face Ireland in Soldier Field this weekend. The team is expected to be announced on Thursday.
In terms of experience there are not many to match Ioane. Only three players on the New Zealand squad, hooker Cody Taylor, backrow Ardie Savea and back Beauden Barrett have more caps.
On the same kind of deal that his New Zealand team-mate Jordie Barrett had last season, Ioane has exercised an option to play overseas for a limited period and will join up with Leinster when his New Zealand commitments finish ahead of the start of the Champions Cup.
For Leinster that opening game is against Premiership side Harlequins at the Aviva Stadium on December 6th.
Leinster coach Leo Cullen will be clinging to the old adage that form is temporary and class permanent, but for Irish fans, witnessing an early season run out against Andy Farrell’s Ireland team would give them a glimpse of what is arriving.
Chicago is also an opportunity for Ioane and Johnny Sexton to mend fences away from the glare of Dublin. Joking, Sexton coined one of the best lines of the year when he heard Ioane was arriving in Leinster.
“I purchased my Munster season ticket last week, put it that way ...” he quipped.
That followed a public spat between the players after New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory over Ireland in 2023.
The former Irish captain and outhalf was unhappy with a comment Ioane made in the immediate aftermath before the feud was reignited in the wake of the publication of Sexton’s book Obsessed, which told his version of the story.
Cullen is unlikely to be overly concerned with Ioane’s form. He started on the left wing in Cordoba for New Zealand’s win against Argentina in August and again in Buenos Aires, where they were beaten by 29-23.
He held his place for New Zealand’s 24-17 win over the Springboks in Eden Park in early September, again on the left wing before the record defeat in Wellington to South Africa, where he did not figure at all.
The November internationals offer Ioane the chance to show that at 28-years-old, he still has something to give to New Zealand at Test level.
Seven years ago, the then 21-year-old, with 18 tries in his first 18 Tests, was one of coach Steve Hansen’s best players in a squad chasing a third straight World Cup title.
He was one of the highest paid players after he signed a four-year contract with New Zealand Rugby, understood to bring him up around the $1 million-a-year level.
With endorsements he stepped into the same stratosphere as some of the highest earners, including All Blacks captain Kieran Read, Sonny Bill Williams and Beauden Barrett.
Whether he still has currency at the elite end will be seen perhaps as early as on Saturday night or over the next four weeks with Scotland, England and Wales also on the New Zealand dance card.
By then Leinster fans should have their minds made up.
