Rugby Bledisloe Cup: The ‘point of difference’ that could keep Rieko Ioane in the All Blacks against the Wallabies this weekend

By RugbyPass.com

Much has been made of Rieko Ioane’s now infamous drop ball on the try line in the 48 hours following the opening clash of the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington.

The reaction to the missed opportunity to score a try, which would almost certainly have seen the All Blacks emerge victorious from the 16-tie, has been widespread on both social and traditional media, as well as among fans.

Some have called for Ioane to be eliminated, while the Herald called the mistake, which was due to his signature one-handed jump that caused the scoring spill, as “unforgivable” directly after the game.

However, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster refused to blame Ioane for his team’s failure to clinch victory in his first test as New Zealand head coach.

One of Ioane’s teammates, as well as a former teammate, have also expressed their support for the 23-year-old winger, who was starting his first test at the center after having previously played all of his international rugby on the wing.

Speaking at the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, Ioane Blues teammate and former All Blacks hooker James Parsons endorsed the 30-test star, praising his performance in a match played in steamy conditions at Sky Stadium.

Parsons, who played twice for the All Blacks between 2014 and 2016, said he was surprised Ioane was taken off the field before the hour mark, and believed the hit overshadowed what was a good performance in the first test. of the year.

“I thought he was good. Seriously, I was surprised they replaced him. I was like, ‘Shit, is he leaving?'” Parsons said.

The Blues veteran rake revealed that the reason he was surprised Ioane was substituted midway through the second half was because of how much he had shown he can deliver defensively through his speed.

Renowned for his attacking ability, Ioane’s defensive side of the game hasn’t been as advertised, but Parsons said his fast pace is something the All Blacks could use ahead of the second round of the Bledisloe Cup at Eden Park in Auckland East. Weekend.

Parsons admitted that while Ioane was exposed on defense in the run-up to Marika Koroibete’s try for the Wallabies two days ago, he blamed that on a lack of cohesion on a backline that saw Ioane team up with Damian McKenzie and Jordie Barrett.

“They checked him out, but you look at his work to get out and it actually ends up reaching his man.

“Damian McKenzie or Jordie [Barrett] I needed to push first, but they didn’t think I could get there, so they stayed outside.

“I thought McKenzie did a great job tackling and almost eliminating him, but it wasn’t just Rieko on that. I felt like it was a matter of connection.

“Yeah, they checked it, but it came back out, and because it’s so fast, it has this ability, because it’s so fast, it can turn a defensive misread and save it.

“Maybe just because they haven’t played much together, Damian didn’t really know it, and he waited a second too long and couldn’t see Rieko coming because they were backing off.

“But I thought Rieko was cool. I really think so. He’s someone else, like Caleb [Clarke], which has a point of difference. You can change a game. “

Parsons added that while Anton Lienert-Brown, Ioane’s replacement in the match, and Jack Goodhue offer a reliable defensive partnership together, the value of Ioane’s physical attributes should not be ignored.

Ioane’s former Blues teammate and current Crusaders running back Bryn Hall redoubled Parsons’ sentiments and lightly made his own mistake by scoring attempts during Super Rugby Aotearoa earlier this year.

Hall missed a golden opportunity to score when the Crusaders defeated the Highlanders in the penultimate round of the competition when wing Josh McKay chased after him and knocked the ball out of reach as he lunged toward the goal line.

“It’s unfortunate. 99 times out of 100 he’s scoring a try like that. I also know about not having a try,” Hall joked.

“I know it’s difficult, but Rieko could take a little heat off me now.”

On a more serious note, Hall agreed with Parsons on the speed Ioane can deliver, noting the attacking threat he poses as he gains more time in jersey number 13.

“You talk about the great combinations that we have had in the past with [Ma’a] Nonu and [Conrad] Smith and all those kinds of combinations, it doesn’t happen overnight, “Hall said.

“I think he deserves another start.

“On offense, if you can put that guy on a ball out and be able to manipulate the defense when he’s trying to go outside one on one, nine times out of 10 with speed, he’s going to put people in or go there himself.

“It will be interesting, because I thought Anton came in and played well, but I think Rieko was pretty good at the weekend, it’s a shame that incident highlighted his performance, but I think it should be good going forward.”

This article first appeared on RugbyPass.com and has been republished with permission.