Joshua R. Ioane (born 11 July 1995) is a New Zealand

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 ...

player who plays for Otago in the

Mitre 10 Cup The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in t ...

and the in

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 ...

. His position of choice is

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

Early life

Born in Auckland. Ioane moved to Otago for university, after completing high school at King's College. Ioane was a member of his school’s first XV from years 11 - 13, also representing New Zealand for Touch and Rugby League at school level. Ioane was also eligible to represent Samoa in international rugby through heritage, prior to his All Black debut, having previously represented Samoa U20 in 2015.

Playing career

Ioane was signed to the Highlanders for 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 ...

, having played well in his first season for Otago. After the departure of established All Black,

Lima Sopoaga Lima Sopoaga (born 3 February 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays for Lyon in the Top 14 competition. His regular playing positions are Fly-Half and Centre. Early life Sopoaga was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His family co ...

, from the Highlanders, Ioane became a regular starter for the team during the 2019 Super Rugby season, despite the presence of experienced first-five-eighth,

Marty Banks Martin Banks (born 19 September 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for in the Bunnings NPC and the in Super Rugby. His position is First five-eighth and occasionally Fullback. Career Banks was playing for the Takapuna Rug ...

. Ioane was one of the highest points-scorers of the season, with 114 points in the competition. On 2 July 2019, Ioane was named by head coach Steve Hansen as one of four uncapped players in New Zealand's All Blacks squad for the

2019 Rugby Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

, with utility back

Damian McKenzie Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays fullback or First five-eighth for Waikato in the Bunnings NPC competition and Chiefs in super rugby . McKenzie has played 40 tests for New Zealand since ...

ruled out for the rest of the year due to a torn ACL. Although named to replace All Black vice-captain

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...

off the bench against Argentina, Ioane was not brought on to the field, with New Zealand scraping by, winning 20–16. Having not played any tests during the Rugby Championship, Ioane was left uncapped after the outstanding form of Barrett, as well as

Richie Mo'unga Richard Fou'a Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth for in the Bunnings NPC, the in Super Rugby, and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Early life Mo'unga was bo ...

. When New Zealand named their squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

, Ioane was controversially axed, with selectors preferring to take only two first-five-eighths, with Ioane's inexperience deemed to be a risk. Ioane made his international debut for New Zealand against Tonga on 7 September 2019, having been re-called to prevent injury to Richie Mo'unga. Ioane replaced Beauden Barrett at half-time, scoring 8 points on debut. Ioane's contributions brought New Zealand's points tally to a 92–7 win. On 31 August 2021, Ioane was signed to the Chiefs for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ioane, Josh 1995 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Living people Rugby union players from Auckland Rugby union fly-halves New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players Highlanders (rugby union) players Moana Pasifika players Chiefs (rugby union) players Rugby union fullbacks