Digby Ioane (born 14 July 1985) is an Australian professional

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 its m ...

footballer who played for the

Colorado Raptors The American Raptors is a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition . Established as the Glendale Raptors in 2006, the team was a found ...

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). Ioane previously played for

Panasonic Wild Knights Saitama Wild Knights (formerly Panasonic Wild Knights) is a Japanese rugby union team formerly based in Ōta city, Gunma prefecture which plays in the Top League. Inspired by Tony Brown at fly half (though he was not captain), it dominated the l ...

in the

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He also played for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

, the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...

, the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competition ...

and the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. He also played international representative test rugby for the Australia Wallabies.

Family and early life

Ioane was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, but moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

with his family when he was 2 years old. His family are of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

n heritage. He was introduced to

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

then to rugby union at an early age and represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in both junior

Victorian Rugby Union Rugby Victoria, formerly the Victorian Rugby Union, is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. Within the state of Victoria, it is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. Rugby Victoria manages competitions for males and femal ...

and junior

Victorian Rugby League NRL Victoria (abbreviated as NRLVic, and formerly the Victorian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria is an Affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body t ...

before moving to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in 2002. Ioane attended St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, and played for the 1st XV rugby team for two years. He played for the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players ...

team in 2002 and 2003. Ioane joined the Queensland Reds academy in 2004. He was selected for both the Australian U19 and Australian U21 teams in 2004, and made the Australian U21 team again in 2005.

Rugby career

Despite not having played Super Rugby, Ioane was selected for the Wallabies squad to tour France and the United Kingdom under coach Eddie Jones at the end of 2005. He played for Australia 'A' in their win against the

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

in Bordeaux on that tour.

Force and Wallabies 2006–07

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, Ioane joined the

, along with

Nathan Sharpe Nathan Sharpe (born 26 February 1978) is a retired professional Australian rugby union player. He began his rugby career at the Queensland Reds in 1999 before joining the newly created Western Force in 2006, where he captained the club until h ...

from the Reds, who was the Force's first big-name signing and inaugural captain. Ioane made his

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 ...

debut in the first game of the season for the Force against the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...

on 10 February 2006. He played 12 games in his first season and scored 2 tries, but the Force finished in last place in their first year. After the Super 14 season, Ioane was selected again for Australia 'A', and played in two matches against the visiting

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

team. He was selected for a third year in the Australian U21 team, making it to the semi-finals of the 2006 World Championships in France. Ioane was nominated for the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

's U21 International Player of the Year award in 2006. In 2007, the Western Force was bolstered with new signings, including

Matt Giteau Matthew James Giteau (born 29 September 1982) is an Australian rugby union professional player who is playing with the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). Giteau joined the Giltinis after a short playing stint with the Gungahlin Eagles in t ...

. Ioane suffered niggling injuries that limited his involvement to 8 games, and he lost his place in the starting 15. However, on 3 June 2007, he was selected to make his Test debut for Australia against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

in Brisbane. He made a try saving tackle and scored a try. Ioane spent the latter part of the 2007 season playing for his previous hometown

Melbourne Rebels The Melbourne Rebels is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They were the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia, until 2017 ...

in the

Australian Rugby Championship The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a now-defunct domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ...

. The Rebels were the surprise packet of the series and were only defeated in the final by the

Central Coast Rays Sydney is an Australian rugby union team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). Formerly known as Sydney Rays, the team is one of two sides from New South Wales in the competition; the other being the NSW Country Eagles. T ...

Reds and Wallabies 2008–13

Digby Ioane joined the Queensland Reds in 2008. Unfortunately his season was disrupted by a broken hand and two periods of suspension for careless tackles, but his talent still earned him a place in the Wallaby squad and game time with Australia A in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup. He also won a spot on the end of season 2008 tour to the northern hemisphere. In 2009, Ioane was switched to outside centre to cover an injury and proved a sensation, making the position his own until a shoulder reconstruction ended his season prematurely. Fought his way back to be selected for the Wallaby end of year tour and made his comeback in the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

Test against the All Blacks in Tokyo. Ioane continued his good form for the Reds in 2010, playing on the wing and at outside centre. He scored an equal team-high five tries in twelve appearances for the Reds. 2011 was a standout season for Ioane. He featured in 15 Super Rugby games for the Reds and scored five tries, bringing his career Super Rugby tally to 100 points – and earning his selection in the Wallabies' 2011 Tri-Nations and World Cup squads. Ioane was suspended for 4 matches in 2012 while playing for the Reds, after making an illegal tackle on Sharks Flanker Marcell Coetzee. As the international break approached, Brendan Moon acclaimed Ioane as having the potential to "become one of the greats of the international game". Ioane played an integral role in Australia's 3-0 Test series win over Wales in June 2012, and scored the vital match-winning try against Argentina in The 2012 Rugby Championship. In 2013, Ioane added a further ten Super Rugby caps for the Reds. He played in the first Test 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 ...

on 22 June 2013, which Australia lost 21–23, but sustained a labral tear injury to his right shoulder in the match and was ruled out of playing for the rest of the Test series.

Stade Français 2013–15

Ioane moved to Europe at the end of 2013 on a two-season contract to play for

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

French domestic competition. He played his first match for the club on 29 December 2013, in a 19–12 win over

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, Franc ...

Honda Heat 2015–2017

Moving to Japan, Ioane joined the

Honda Heat Mie Honda Heat is a Japanese rugby union team based in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan. The owner of the club is Honda Motor. (Suzuka is known for the Suzuka Circuit and the presence of car companies.) They play in the Japan Rugby League One, ...

for the

2015–16 Top League The 2015–16 Top League was the 13th season of Japan's domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. It kicked off on 13 November 2015 and was completed on 24 January 2016. The final was won by Panasonic Wild Knights defeating Toshiba Brave L ...

season.

Crusaders 2017

In July 2016, Ioane signed a 2-year contract with the

team starting from 2017 through to 2018. Ioane was named in the Crusaders' Squad for the Inaugural

Brisbane Global Rugby Tens The Global 10s is a rugby tens tournament held during February each year in Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. It is hosted by Duco Events and the Queensland Rugby Union. The inaugural tournament was held in 2017. The Super Rugby teams from Aus ...

tournament. Playing for the New Zealand-franchise club in the pool-game clash; he scoring a try against his former team: the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

, guiding the Crusaders to the grand final (which however, they lost to the Chiefs). Ioane was a member of the

' successful

campaign. Returning to Australia and making his

debut for the Kiwi-club in Round 3 and playing against his good friend

Quade Cooper Quade Santini Cooper (born 5 April 1988) is a professional rugby union player and occasional boxer. Although born in New Zealand, he has represented Australia in rugby at international level. He currently plays for Hanazono Liners in Japan, ...

and his former team: the

, Ioane producing an outstanding performance in the Crusaders' tight 22–20 win (with teammate

Mitchell Hunt Mitchell James Hunt (born 19 June 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth or fullback. Early career Born and raised in the city of Nelson in the South Island of New Zealand, Hunt attended Nelson Co ...

kicking a penalty goal in the 80th minute to win the game) at

. Two weeks later, he scored his first try for the Kiwi-club during the home-game 45–17 win over the

at AMI Stadium. He returned to Australia again, this time in Sydney and featured in the 41–22 win over the Waratahs at Allianz Stadium. With injuries hampering his time with the Kiwi-club during the 2017 Season and despite contracted for the 2018 Season; Ioane ended his stint with the Kiwi-franchise club, after opting to return to Japan to continue playing full-time rugby with the

for the

2017–18 Top League The 2017–18 Top League was the 15th season of Japan's top-tier domestic rugby union competition, the Top League. The tournament was won by Suntory Sungoliath for the fifth time, beating Panasonic Wild Knights 12–8 in the final played on 13 Ja ...

season.

Panasonic Wild Knights 2017–2018

Ioane (along with his former

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

teammate

Berrick Barnes Berrick Steven Barnes (born 28 May 1986) is a former Australian professional rugby union footballer. His usual position is fly-half or inside centre. He is currently signed with Japanese Top League club Panasonic Wild Knights, but previously pl ...

) was part of the

' squad for the 2018

tournament.

Personal life

Digby Ioane is of

n descent and is a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. He has several tattoos, the vast majority drawing inspiration either from his family or his faith. Ioane is the uncle of

Ole Avei Ole Avei (born 13 June 1983 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a Samoan International Rugby Union player, currently playing hooker with Soyaux-Angouleme in the French Pro D2. Avei began his professional career in 2005 with the Queensland Reds, ma ...

, who plays for the Samoan national team, and Monty Ioane, who plays for the Italian national team.

References

External links

Digby Ioane on itsrugby.co.uk
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ioane, Digby 1985 births Australia international rugby union players Australian people of Samoan descent Australian rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Living people New Zealand emigrants to Australia Expatriate rugby union players in the United States Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Queensland Reds players Western Force players Rugby union players from Brisbane Australian Roman Catholics Stade Français players Mie Honda Heat players Australian expatriate rugby union players Australian expatriate sportspeople in France Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Japan Crusaders (rugby union) players Saitama Wild Knights players American Raptors players Rugby union players from Melbourne Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States