All Blacks great urges Scott Robertson to make big Rieko Ioane call with ‘Conrad Smith-like’ centre lurking
Blues and All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane and former New Zealand number eight Murray Mexted.
Former All Black Murray Mexted believes that now is the time for Scott Robertson to shift Rieko Ioane and try someone else at centre.
Pressure continues to increase on the 28-year-old after a mediocre 2024 Test season and a poor start to the 2025 campaign for the Blues.
There are concerns that having Ioane in the midfield is limiting the effectiveness of the wide players and Mexted certainly agrees.
Although he does not want him dropped altogether, the former number eight has urged head coach Robertson to try a new centre combination.
Ioane ‘should be playing on the wing’
“To me, Ioane’s a winger, he’s not a distributor like Bruce Robertson or Conrad Smith. He’s not creating tries for his outside backs, he’s a strike player and I think he should be playing on the wing,” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“Ioane’s got everything as a rugby player: he’s fast, he’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s belligerent, but I still think he’s a strike player and should be played on the wing.
“We want our try-scorers to be finishing, and wingers and full-backs finishing is a beautiful kind of rugby to watch.”
The question is which player should replace him. Jordie Barrett is likely to line up at 12 when available, but there is uncertainty around what the coaches plans are for the All Blacks star.
Robertson has confirmed that Barrett, who is currently on a sabbatical with Leinster, will be eligible for selection in the mid-year series, but he has effectively been playing non-stop since February 2024.
Mexted would therefore like to see Anton Lienert-Brown get an opportunity as a regular starter, but as a 12 rather than a 13.
“Lienert-Brown, I’ve always been unsure whether he’s a 12 or a 13 because he can really do both in many respects. I don’t understand why he hasn’t been played more,” he said.
“I know he’s had a lot of injuries, but he’s an outstanding footballer and at the moment with Jordie overseas, I would have Lienert-Brown at 12 – I think that would be a very interesting little number. But anyway, it’s combinations they’ve got to find.”
The next Conrad Smith?
That duly leaves the troublesome outside centre spot still open and Mexted is unsure as to who the obvious candidate is to fill it, although he is a big fan of the Hurricanes’ Billy Proctor.
He remains out of action due to an ongoing Achilles issue, but the ex-All Blacks back-rower has compared him to one of the country’s greats.
Proctor enjoyed an excellent 2024 and impressed when given an opportunity at Test level, and he will hope to become a more regular fixture this year.
“Proctor is actually a little bit like Conrad Smith in many respects. He knows how to pass, there’s no doubt about that, and players around him seem to score tries, so I like that with a centre,” Mexted said.
Smith formed one half of arguably the greatest centre partnership in the sport’s history alongside the imposing Ma’a Nonu.
It is unlikely that the All Blacks could field a pair to rival that nowadays, but Mexted hopes that Robertson can at least find a combination that works well together.
“Sometimes you’re on the same wavelength and Smith and Nonu were definitely on the same wavelength. Smith knew exactly what Nonu was going to do and vice versa, they just seemed to be able to slip together,” he said.
