Akira Ioane (born 16 June 1995) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
player. Ioane plays blindside flanker and number 8 for the
Auckland rugby union team
Auckland are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1883, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Prov ...
in the Mitre 10 Cup, for the
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
in the
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
competition and was selected for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
in 2017, having previously represented New Zealand internationally in Sevens and the
Māori All Blacks
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...
.
Early life and family
Born in Auckland on 16 June 1995,
Ioane is the older brother of current
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
squad member
Rieko Ioane. His father
Eddie Ioane
Eddie Ioane (born June 2, 1966) is a Samoan rugby union player. He played as lock.
Career
His first match for Samoa was against Tonga, at Apia, on June 17, 1990. He was also part of the 1991 Rugby World Cup roster. He retired after the World Cup ...
played for at the
1991 Rugby World Cup
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...
and his mother
Sandra Wihongi is a former
Black Fern. They moved to Japan shortly after Akira's birth, for four years, while Eddie played rugby for
Ricoh
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational imaging and electronics company (law), company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Riken, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken ...
.
Of
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
and Samoan descent, Ioane affiliates to the
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and
Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 16 ...
iwi. He was educated at
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...
.
Rugby career
International Rugby
Ioane joined the
New Zealand sevens team in 2014 and made his debut at the
2014 Wellington Sevens
The 2014 Wellington Sevens was the 15th edition of the tournament as part of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series. It was hosted in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Westpac Stadium.
Format
The teams were divided into pools of four teams, who play ...
.
He was a member of the
All Blacks Sevens
The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. They have won a record twelve World Rugby Sevens Series titles. The team has been of ...
squad at the
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
. Ioane played for the New Zealand Sevens Squad in the 2015 Wellington Sevens. He was awarded as Player of the Finals in New Zealand vs South Africa.
Ioane also played for the New Zealand Sevens Squad for Sydney Sevens in 2016 in February. In the finals he was awarded as Player of the Finals whilst his Brother Reiko Ioane got the Player of Tournament against Australia in the Sevens Tournament.
On 17 June 2017, Ioane started for the Māori All Blacks against the touring
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
during a 10–32 loss at the Rotorua International Stadium. Ioane played the full 80 minutes against the Lions.
While on tour with the Māori All Blacks in 2017, Ioane was called up for the All Blacks as injury cover for Blues team-mate
Jerome Kaino
Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player.
In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...
. Ioane made his international debut for New Zealand on 14 November 2017, replacing the in-form Highlanders flanker
Liam Squire
Liam Ivan John Squire (born 20 March 1991) is a former New Zealand rugby union player from Tokomaru, New Zealand. He played in the Number 8 and Blindside flanker position for Tasman in the Mitre 10 Cup. Squire joined the NTT DoCoMo Red Hurri ...
off the bench in the 53rd minute of a 28–23 victory over a French XV.
Following the shortened
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
season and
Super Rugby Aotearoa
Super Rugby Aotearoa currently named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes is a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was susp ...
, as well as his showing in the 2020
North vs South match, Ioane was selected in
Ian Foster's first
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
squad, for the
2020 Rugby Championship
The 2020 Tri Nations Series was the seventeenth edition of the annual southern hemisphere competition, involving Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. On 16 October 2020, 2019 Rugby Championship winners and 2019 Rugby World Cup champions South A ...
.
Super Rugby
He earned a
Blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...
contract for 2015 after a stunning performance at the
2014 Wellington Sevens
The 2014 Wellington Sevens was the 15th edition of the tournament as part of the 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series. It was hosted in Wellington, New Zealand, at the Westpac Stadium.
Format
The teams were divided into pools of four teams, who play ...
. He replaced
Peter Saili who left for a contract in France.
On the 2/5/15 whilst playing the
Western Force he made 12 carries for 118 meters including a try from 55m out.
On 7 June 2017, with injury to Jerome Kaino, Ioane started in the Blues' historic 22–16 victory over the British and Irish Lions. Ioane performed very well but was overshadowed by the departing number 8
Steven Luatua
Steve Luatua (born 29 April 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. His regular playing position is either as a lock or a loose forward. He plays for the Bristol Bears in the English Premiership.
Luatua was a member of the New Zealand und ...
.
Ioane has been a regular starter for the Blues since 2017 and is one of the leading try-scorers of the 2018 season. Ioane has scored six tries in the
2018 Super Rugby season
The 2018 Super Rugby season was the 23rd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. After two seasons in which 18 teams participate ...
and has scored the most tries of any forward.
Ioane was dropped from the Blues opening matches of the Super rugby 2020 season.
References
External links
All Blacks Profile*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ioane, Akira
1995 births
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand Māori rugby union players
New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent
Blues (Super Rugby) players
Auckland rugby union players
New Zealand international rugby sevens players
Rugby union flankers
People educated at Auckland Grammar School
Rugby union players from Auckland
Māori All Blacks players
Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic rugby sevens players of New Zealand
Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players of New Zealand
Rugby sevens players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
New Zealand male rugby sevens players
Ngāpuhi people
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui people
Commonwealth Games medallists in rugby sevens
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand
Living people
New Zealand international rugby union players