All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane follows Jordie Barrett to Irish club Leinster in shock move

Rieko Ioane taunted Irish great Jonathan Sexton and will now join his Irish club Leinster. Photo / Getty Images

In a bombshell move sure to spark interest throughout the rugby world, All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane will join Irish powerhouse Leinster next season and, in doing so, attempt to traverse the rare realm from villain to world-class recruit.

Ioane remains committed to the All Blacks through to the 2027 World Cup but, as is now commonplace with senior New Zealand rugby players, he has a sabbatical clause in his contract that allows him to skip one Super Rugby Pacific season with the Blues to spend six months abroad.

Ioane could have exercised his sabbatical option in 2024 or 2025 but he has determined December-June is the right window to spread his wings.

Despite fielding lucrative interest from Japan, where older brother Akira now plays, Ioane has opted to follow Jordie Barrett’s trailblazing move to Leinster this year.

Ioane will replicate Barrett’s six-month stint in Dublin which will leave Leinster having hosted the starting All Blacks midfield in the space of a year.

The narrative of Ioane shifting to Dublin is inescapably ironic following his feud with Irish great Jonathan Sexton after the All Blacks consigned Ireland to another World Cup quarterfinal defeat in 2023.

After the final whistle at Stade de France in Paris Ioane told Irish first five-eighth Sexton, so often the on-field protagonist, to enjoy retirement and to not miss his flight home.

With Sexton relitigating that personal clash in his book, Ioane was widely painted as public enemy No 1 in the build-up to the All Blacks and Ireland rematch in Dublin last November.

Ioane led the haka in that test as the All Blacks ended Ireland’s 19-match unbeaten run at Aviva Stadium.

After the victory, in which he played a leading role, Ioane posted a picture to social media with the caption “put that in the book” to double down on his villain status in Ireland.

Now, though, Ioane is preparing to flip the script and switch from foe to friend by pulling on the iconic Leinster jersey next year.

While Ioane is understood to be unfazed by potential lingering tensions with the Irish rugby public, how his recruitment is received poses a fascinating subplot.

Ioane’s Irish venture, and Barrett’s presence at Leinster, also adds another layer of intrigue to the All Blacks and Ireland continuing their engrossing rivalry in Chicago this November.

Barrett’s time at Leinster is proving highly successful. Last weekend he was named man of the match after another standout performance in Leinster’s 52-0 Champions Cup quarterfinal drubbing of Glasgow in Dublin.

Leinster, short-priced favourites to claim European silverware this season, are benefiting from Barrett’s physical presence.

Those benefits are reciprocal as Barrett soaks up contrasting styles and stages to return to the All Blacks in July an improved asset, with his breakdown work in particular elevating to another level.

After spending more than a decade in the Auckland rugby bubble, experiencing the same change as Barrett will expose Ioane to similar personal and professional growth.

At Leinster he will compete with Ireland veterans Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw to start at centre and savour the chance to challenge for European rugby glory.

Any sabbatical comes with elements of risk.

Ioane could be injured abroad with the World Cup on the horizon.

The likes of All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, Hurricanes centre Billy Proctor and the destructive Leicester Fainga’anuku, who returns home from Toulon and is eligible for the All Blacks from August, could compile compelling Super Rugby form in Ioane’s absence to challenge Scott Robertson’s established midfield pairing.

Ioane, though, as a 28-year-old veteran of 81 tests, will back himself to return to the All Blacks in time for the July tests next year – just as Barrett will do this season.

The chance to live and play rugby in Ireland, at one of the world’s leading domestic clubs, is clearly too good to turn down.

While the Blues will miss his absence next year, Ioane will return to New Zealand mentally refreshed, with enhanced rugby intelligence and, perhaps, having eventually won over some new friends.

Liam Napier has been a sports journalist since 2010 and his work has taken him to World Cups in rugby, netball and cricket, boxing world title fights and Commonwealth Games.