All Blacks v Ireland: A very fashionable Rieko Ioane talks family, life beyond rugby, and his storybook move to Ireland

Sir John Kirwan on Rieko Ioane: "The Rieko that you see is not possibly the Rieko that you get, but I think he's playing the game beautifully. He's been happy to be the villain."

The All Black that many Irish fans paint as a villain sits down to talk fashion, family, life beyond rugby, and why 80 minutes on the field does not define him as a person. “They don’t have to know me or like me ... my comfort is that I’m very secure with who I am.”

We start with a farewell – Rieko Ioane has said goodbye to New Zealand, for now. The All Blacks’ four-week Grand Slam tour through Chicago and on to the United Kingdom is but a prelude to an even greater life adventure.

New experiences await in the very country which has been at the heart of one of world rugby’s biggest storylines – Ioane v Ireland. The man painted by many Irish fans as the biggest rugby villain on the planet is off to live and play in the Emerald Isle itself.

As a newly imprinted Leinster player for the Northern Hemisphere rugby season, Ioane will come face-to-face with the fans he has riled with explosive running and brutal defensive work on the field and a couple of verbal and social media taunts after the final whistle.

But we’ll come to Johnny Sexton shortly.

‘I know that I’ve changed as a man’

Ioane became the eighth-youngest All Black when he came off the bench against Italy in 2016, at the age of 19 years, 239 days.

Still only 28, he has already played 87 tests, scored 38 tries, and become an important senior All Blacks leader, even if his form more recently has kept him from the starting XV and this morning’s test against Ireland in Chicago.

Rieko Ioane celebrates one of his 38 test tries, alongside Jordie Barrett. Photo / Photosport

Beyond these statistics, however, is a creative spirit who cares deeply about family and friends and who is already thinking about life after the final whistle blows.

“I was extremely raw, a little bit immature,” Ioane, recalling his early days as an All Black, says.

“I carried an ego. Now I’d like to think that I’ve definitely matured a lot.

“Regardless of what people see in the 80 minutes, I know that I’ve changed as a man. A lot of people still see ego, but they only see 80 minutes, which I’m fine with.

“They don’t have to know me or like me ... my comfort is that I’m very secure with who I am, with who I hang out with, with my friends, my family, and my close group.

“That’s a space that I’ve navigated and it’s taken its time, but yes, I’m very comfortable in my skin.“

The very fashionable Rieko Ioane

Today, Rieko Ioane is sitting in casual Adidas gear in the lobby of the glamorous Waldorf Astoria hotel in Chicago – a far cry from the tiny bedroom that he and his older brother Akira Ioane shared growing up in Auckland’s Mt Eden.

Ioane has a small backpack prepared, ready to explore more of Chicago – “Chi-town”.

American sport, culture, music and fashion have provided an important backdrop to his formative years, and he’s been lapping it up this week, including a trip to the United Center on Monday to watch the Chicago Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks. He swapped an All Blacks jersey for a Bulls singlet with Bulls player Josh Giddey.

All Black Rieko Ioane (left) with Chicago Bulls basketball star Josh Giddey in Chicago this week.

“It’s a full circle – my first tour with the All Blacks was here and there’s a lot of American sports going on at the moment, which the boys are right into,” Ioane says.

“It’s a place that we love coming to just because the off-field side is so cool to be a part of – it’s everything we want at home, but don’t really get.

“The culture of American sport probably played a bigger part once I left school. It’s where you started seeing your idols and people on screen in the fashion space, music and lifestyle.”

It’s also in this space that Ioane and his fiancée, Dione (Dee) Iusitini, see a potential future; the pair established their own fashion brand earlier this year, a streetwear label called Dr.Yokai.

The Dr stands for Dee and Rieko, Yokai is a play on the names of their two cats: Kaisa and Yone.

Rieko Ioane's and Dione Iusitini's fashion label Dr.Yokai.

The online business has already sold out of early runs of casual white T-shirts.

“Our aesthetic is very Japanese culture,” says Ioane.

“We first released a hat, pants and a T-shirt. Going back and forth with manufacturers and trying to get things right, having samples sent in – it took a long time, but I enjoyed that side of the process.

“I’ve come home from training and – being in amongst footy and the boys so much – that was my outlet to express my creative side. My partner and I have loved that journey so far.”

Balancing rugby with the future

Rieko Ioane still has goals to achieve on the rugby field, while also considering life after the game.

With rugby being so time-consuming right now, Iusitini “spearheads most of the operations”, including the creative side, Ioane says. “I just get to wear the stuff and try and make it look cool.”

“It is only us two because it’s new. We definitely want that to flourish and blossom into something more in the future, but for now, we’re happy with creating pieces that we see as fashionable and that people would buy.

“I definitely know that while I’m in rugby and while I’m relevant, it’s probably a good time to start growing the brand because it’s a lot more challenging after the footy’s finished.”

Ioane still has goals to achieve on the football field – he is part of a recent era of All Blacks yet to taste World Cup glory, and he is getting tantalisingly close to entering the 100-test club - but he also knows it’s a critical time to keep an eye on the future, on a life once the final whistle blows.

He doesn’t want to start cold on a new career once he finishes rugby. Right now, that could be in the fashion field, but it’s early days.

A family united

Rieko and Akira Ioane were essentially roommates until their late teens, forming an unbreakable brotherly bond between themselves, and with their parents, Sandra and Eddie Ioane, both of whom played representative rugby – mum for the Black Ferns; dad for Samoa.

“They are huge in my life,” says Ioane.

“My family has shaped everything, and who I am today. We never grew up wanting things; we never grew up struggling. My parents always provided for me and my brother – we never went without. We’re extremely, extremely grateful.”

With mum and dad’s rugby experiences, “we sort of segued into that quite easily”, Ioane says.

All Blacks brothers Akira Ioane (left) and Rieko Ioane in 2017. Photo / Getty Images

He says Akira Ioane – who played 21 tests for the All Blacks – also set the benchmark for him. “He was making all these teams and achieving so much – it made it attainable for me, being his younger brother. I’m super thankful for and grateful for my family – without them, as cliché as it is, I wouldn’t be here today.”

The family still live within minutes of each other, in Auckland’s Māngere Bridge.

“When the washing starts piling up, take it down to mum’s ... when there’s no food at home, drive up to Aki’s,” laughs Ioane. “We’re still definitely close.”

A farewell to New Zealand

And so, at 28, Ioane is off to see a large part of the world. While his brother is now playing his rugby in Japan, Ioane is Ireland-bound. His farewell to New Zealand last week was “very emotional”.

Ioane, who attended Auckland Grammar, could be fairly described as a ‘true Blues’ Aucklander, loyal to his former school, Ponsonby club, province and Super Rugby franchise.

Iusitini will be travelling and living with Ioane in regular blocks. The wider whānau will also make visits.

Ioane and Iusitini announced their engagement in February last year; the pair, who have been together 12 years, have yet to set a date for their wedding – “it will be definitely soon”.

Rieko Ioane and his fiancée Dione Iusitini.

Children will also feature one day: “But that’s not on our timing – it’s on God’s timing.”

For now, the pair are managing their other set of “kids”, the two cats and two French bulldogs, Ekko and Yuumi.

“Bloody menaces,” laughs Ioane.

Ioane and Ireland

Every story needs a villain, they say. In Irish eyes, the so-called New Zealand villain - or “bloody menace” - of the All Blacks-Ireland storyline in recent years has been Ioane.

The feud started at the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final when Ioane and Irish star Johnny Sexton engaged in a verbal set-to after the All Blacks’ victory – Ioane called Sexton a not-very-nice word and Sexton remonstrated.

Johnny Sexton said his verbal assault was a reaction to Rieko Ioane's own barb. Photo / Getty Images

Sexton later wrote about it in his book: “So much for the All Blacks’ famous ‘no dickheads’ policy. So much for their humility. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake-humble f***er. It doesn’t look great, me having a go at one of them just after we’ve lost. But I can’t be expected to ignore that.”

The feud reignited when the All Blacks defeated Ireland again last year.

“Put that in the book,” Ioane wrote on Instagram after the game.

All Black legend and former Blues coach Sir John Kirwan, who first selected the Ioane brothers for Super Rugby, said he has loved witnessing the progression of Rieko Ioane on and off the field.

“I love the whole family. The Rieko that you see is not possibly the Rieko that you get, but I think he’s playing the game beautifully,” says Kirwan.

“He’s been happy to be the villain, happy to be the guy that everyone dislikes, and I’m hoping... I presume it doesn’t affect him, which is the most important thing.

“He’s going through a tough time at the moment - he’s not getting selected, and it’ll be a tough time for him, but I think all of us in our careers go through those little moments.”

Rugby broadcaster Ric Salizzo and Sir John Kirwan talk to Kieran Read and Rieko Ioane in 2017. Photo / Photosport

Kirwan says the Blues’ style of football in recent seasons “hasn’t really accentuated his real out-and-out attacking ability”.

“I don’t think the Blues have helped him [as] the attacker that I love.”

But he says Ioane is now one of the best defenders in the world and loves that he “keeps getting better”.

“I think he was a great attacker and his defence needed work. Now he’s one of the best defenders, and he probably needs to work a little bit on his distribution game. I just think he’s amazing.”

Ireland calling

Rieko Ioane, left, and Ardie Savea, at one of several public events in Chicago that the All Blacks have attended this week. Photo / All Blacks

Ioane himself is looking forward - he is nothing other than excited to fully embrace his Irish sabbatical at the end of this All Blacks tour.

“The opportunity, firstly, to grow my game and become a better rugby player – and doing it with a team like Leinster – is awesome.

“But then my fiancée and I also get to experience a different part of the world for a long time. It’s definitely out of our comfort zone.

“When we holiday, it’s to the islands, but now we’ll be in Europe and we’ll be travelling around by ourselves.”

Ioane admits the comments in his social media direct messages have been “vocal”.

“But it’s going to be awesome,” Ioane says.

“I’m sure – or hopefully – by the end of my tenure, they’ll appreciate what I bring to a team. I’m going there very open-minded and optimistic about such an awesome challenge.”

Shayne Currie travelled to Chicago with assistance from New Zealand Rugby.

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.