Richie McCaw, as All Blacks captain, adopted a similar option, preferring six months’ travel over continuous rugby.
Ben Smith also elected to take a three-month nonplaying sabbatical during his career.
These days that option is largely non-existent, with senior All Blacks such as Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett, Patrick Tuipulotu, Damian McKenzie, Barrett and Ioane electing to maximise their earnings and rugby experiences with short-term stints abroad.
Of the modern-day All Blacks, Codie Taylor is the exception after last year opting for extended leave after the 2023 World Cup to refresh and spend time with his family.
While Smith’s travel sabbatical contrasts Barrett and Ioane spending six months each with Irish powerhouse Leinster, he approves of their moves.
“When I took my sabbatical, I travelled the world and put the rugby boots well aside so it’s a bit different,” Smith, speaking to the Herald this week in his capacity as International Rugby Players’ head of welfare, said.
“As a spectator and rugby fan, it’s great you’re going to see players from here plying their trade over there. I can understand the motivations of those guys. It’s more of a global game.
“For me, I never considered doing it at all but Dan Carter did with his stint in Perpignan.
“I don’t think Ireland will become a common destination but those guys will get a lot out of it and it’ll be interesting to watch.
“If it’s giving them a taste of Europe so they come and play for the All Blacks more then it’s a good idea.”
The merits of allowing loyal players to skip one Super Rugby season as part of a long-term commitment to New Zealand rugby, against the concept of selecting All Blacks from offshore, continues to be widely debated.
Smith, though, backs NZ Rugby’s approach.
“New Zealand Rugby is doing a good job being flexible. It’s obvious there’s a draw of going to Japan or Europe with the Euro. They are going to pay well.
“To be precious about it and try keep every player in, it’s not going to work. What they’ve done is a strategic decision and, ultimately, I think it’s working when you look at what it’s done for guys like that.
“If you saw two or three players from every Super team going overseas then I wouldn’t be supporting it, but the fact it’s one or two over three years then it’s going to work.
“I’m sure it will be continually judged, and there’ll be pressure on Jordie when he comes back to show that he has got better because of it. Knowing him, I’m sure that will be the case.”
Experiencing a different rugby environment, different styles and conditions, is exposing Barrett and Ioane, the latter when he joins Leinster at the end of this year, to alternative ways of viewing the game and, therefore, broadening their skills.
Stylistically, Ireland and Leinster contrast the Hurricanes, Blues or All Blacks.
Smith believes such an experience, and the chance to contest European silverware, will avoid the slow stale creep that can set in by standing still.
“I hate to say this, as it could be taken as knocking Super Rugby, but sometimes a fresh challenge is really good for you. Personally, when I look back, I feel like I was going through the motions a little bit until I became the Hurricanes’ captain.
“That was a different challenge and it really motivated me to a different level. That’s not going to happen for everyone but the chance to go over to Leinster and break things up will be good for those guys.
“As great as it is being a rugby player in New Zealand any job can feel monotonous after three, four years doing the same thing, same season.
“Changing it up can be great for your motivation.”
One of the pitfalls Barrett and Ioane must navigate is burnout. While neither will be unavailable for the All Blacks, as both return in time for the respective July test series, the price of doing so is effectively playing for two years without a significant break.
The challenges of returning from sabbatical are not exclusive to Ireland, either, with most All Blacks enduring sluggish starts after Japanese stints.
To give Barrett and Ioane the best chance of maintaining form, they will need to be managed.
“New Zealand is great at doing that. They’ve proven themselves the way they look after their top players but even levels down in terms of monitoring match and training loads,” Smith said.
“It will be a challenge. The reality is they’ll now be having the season that all Springbok players, Argentinian and Fijian players who are European-based face.
“It’s not a new thing – although it is for a New Zealand player. The team at New Zealand Rugby are aware of that and they wouldn’t have agreed to it if it wasn’t something they were going to manage.”
The Barrett-Ioane midfield combination has been largely cemented for the All Blacks, aside from the odd start for Anton Lienert-Brown and David Havili, for the last three years, since Barrett shifted from fullback to second five-eighth in September 2022.
Leicester Fainga’anuku’s return from France - he’s expected to be eligible for the Rugby Championship in August - will add a destructive centre contender and Billy Proctor, who impressed off the bench for the Hurricanes in his first match of the season last week due to an achilles issue, deserved much more game time for the All Blacks last year.
“The combination has had a few years together and they’ve been world-class for most of it,” Smith said of Barrett-Ioane.
“There are challenges to that position, as there should be.
“The times I played my best is when I was pushed to play my best by guys like Richard Kahui, Casey Laulala, Isaia Toeava.
“There was always someone I felt was better than me so I had to be at my absolute best just to keep my spot.
“That’s the case in New Zealand. I was particularly enthused to see Billy back on the field. He’s got a massive future so him pushing Rieko will be great for Rieko and there’s others like that around.”
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the " rel="" title="">Rugby Direct podcast.
