THE WAITING IS OVER
It’s always been a matter of when with Akira Ioane. There has never been any doubt he has all the natural attributes to be an All Black.
He’s 1.96m and 112kg, so his physique is perfect for a test No 8. He’s an explosive athlete with the sort of pace that could see him, just about, scrape by on the wing if he had to play there and his ball skills have been refined to elite status by a couple of seasons playing sevens for New Zealand.
Since he first played for the Blues as a barely 20-year-old in 2015, the All Blacks coaches have been watching and waiting.
They have been waiting for Ioane to combine all of his immense skills with the same sort of hard-nosed, work ethic that defines the likes of Kieran Read, Sam Cane and Ardie Savea.
They have been waiting for Ioane to develop into a damaging, destructive, physical No 8 with the ability to hurt teams both with and without the ball.
And their patience is finally being rewarded. It would seem now that Ioane’s time has come.
It would seem now that he’s made a selection case that cannot be denied and that the All Blacks have a player they could take to the World Cup and use to spring a major surprise.
The 23-year-old is by no means the finished product but he’s offering so much with ball in hand with the Blues this year that the All Blacks won’t be able to resist seeing what he could do in their environment.
He was the surprise inclusion in the 41-man foundation day camp in April – a strong sign he’s in the frame to be involved later in the year.
If he’s previously been guilty of being a little lazy, he no longer is as the stats show Ioane is the Blues’ most prolific ball carrier.
He’s working harder to get back on his feet and harder to get himself into
