Akira Ioane
 Ioane at theGovernment HouseinAuckland,September 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Akira Latrell Ioane | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 June 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 194 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 113 kg (249 lb; 17 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Auckland Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Eddie Ioane(father) Rieko Ioane(brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Akira Ioane(born 16 June 1995) is aNew Zealandrugby unionplayer. Ioane plays blindside flanker and number 8 for theAuckland rugby union teamin the Mitre 10 Cup, for theBluesin theSuper Rugbycompetition and was selected for theAll Blacksin 2017, having previously represented New Zealand internationally in Sevens and theMāori All Blacks.
Early life and family[edit]
Born in Tokyo on 16 June 1995,[1]Ioane is the older brother of currentAll Blackssquad memberRieko Ioane.His fatherEddie Ioaneplayed forSamoaat the1991 Rugby World Cupand his motherSandra Wihongiis a formerBlack Fern.OfMāoriand Samoan descent, Ioane affiliates to theTe Whānau-ā-ApanuiandNgāpuhiiwi.[2]He was educated atAuckland Grammar School.[1]
Rugby career[edit]
International Rugby[edit]
Ioane joined theNew Zealand sevens teamin 2014 and made his debut at the2014 Wellington Sevens.[3]He was a member of theAll Blacks Sevenssquad at the2014 Commonwealth GamesinGlasgow.[4]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.[3]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.[3]
On 17 June 2017, Ioane started for the Māori All Blacks against the touringBritish and Irish Lionsduring 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-mateJerome Kaino.Ioane made his international debut for New Zealand on 14 November 2017, replacing the in-form Highlanders flankerLiam Squireoff the bench in the 53rd minute of a 28–23 victory over a French XV.
Following the shortenedSuper Rugbyseason andSuper Rugby Aotearoa,as well as his showing in the 2020North vs South match,Ioane was selected inIan Foster'sfirstAll Blackssquad, for the2020 Rugby Championship.[5]
Super Rugby[edit]
He earned aBluescontract for 2015 after a stunning performance at the2014 Wellington Sevens.[6]He replacedPeter Sailiwho left for a contract in France.[7] On the 2/5/15 whilst playing theWestern Forcehe 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 8Steven Luatua.
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 the2018 Super Rugby seasonand has scored the most tries of any forward.
Ioane was dropped from the Blues opening matches of the Super rugby 2020 season.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ab"Akira Ioane".All Blacks statistics.New Zealand Rugby Union.Retrieved29 July2023.
- ^"43 Māori athletes to head to Rio Olympics".Te Karere.5 August 2016.Retrieved6 August2016.
- ^abcNick Jordan (ur7s.com) (4 February 2014)."Bright future for New Zealand 7s newsboy Akira Ioane starting this weekend in Wellington on HSBC World Sevens Series".Archived fromthe originalon 2 April 2015.Retrieved20 March2015.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^Allblacks.com (7 July 2014)."Sevens team for Commonwealth Games named".Retrieved20 March2015.
- ^Allblacks.com (6 September 2020)."ALL BLACKS SQUAD NAMED FOR 2020 INVESTEC RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP".Retrieved6 September2020.
- ^One News(10 February 2015)."Akira Ioane earns Blues contract".Retrieved20 March2015.
- ^nzherald.co.nz (16 January 2015)."Contract terminated: Peter Saili leaves Blues for France".Retrieved20 March2015.
- ^"Akira Ioane dumped as Blues reward form with Hoskins Sotutu chosen at No 8".Stuff.Retrieved15 February2020.
External links[edit]
- All Blacks Profile
- Blues Profileatarchive.today(archived 20 March 2015)
- Akira Ioaneat theWorld Rugby Men's Sevens Series(archived)
- Akira Ioaneat theCommonwealth Games Federation(archived)
- Akira IoaneatOlympics.com
- Akira IoaneatOlympics at Sports-Reference.com(archived)
- 1995 births
- New Zealand 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 for New Zealand
- Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for 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
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- New Zealand expatriates in Japan