Jordie Barrett lifts lid on Rieko Ioane’s controversial Leinster switch which led to ‘barrage of questions’ from team-mates
Jordie Barrett speaking with Rieko Ioane and the All Blacks 12 in action for Leinster.
Rieko Ioane spoke with Jordie Barrett before making the decision to controversially join Leinster next season, according to the All Blacks inside centre.
Ioane will make the move to the Irish province after New Zealand’s end-of-year tour, following in the footsteps of his international team-mate.
Barrett used his sabbatical to sign for Leinster on a six-month deal and he has already made a significant impression for the Dublin-based outfit.
Jordie Barrett’s replacement
He will leave at the end of the current northern hemisphere campaign, but the centre will effectively be replaced by another classy midfielder in 2025/26.
It is a surprising switch given Ioane’s history with Irish rugby and his long-running feud with Leinster’s favourite son, Johnny Sexton, following an incident in the aftermath of the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
The Blues star therefore sought advice from Barrett before making his decision to sign for the Irish side.
“He sounded me out about 10 days ago and just asked a few questions,” Barrett told Newstalk ZB.
“He didn’t say a whole lot, so I didn’t get a good inkling of where his head or heart was, but look, I woke up on my day off and the news had dropped on my phone.
“It gave me 24 hours without having a barrage of questions at training the morning I went in there, so I got all of them yesterday (Thursday).
“He’ll go great. It’s a great place to develop and he’ll see a lot of improvements up here as a player, and get out of his comfort zone in Auckland and the Blues and [it’s] a chance to grow.
“I think it’s a great challenge for him.”
Usually, current All Blacks take their sabbaticals in Japan but Barrett decided on Leinster and it appears to have benefited all parties.
For the Irish province, they have got a world-class player in the quest to end their silverware drought, while New Zealand could be receiving an improved version of the 28-year-old when he returns home ahead of the mid-year series.
‘Growing my game’
“I reserve that judgment for people watching on the telly, but I feel like I’m growing my game,” Barrett said.
“It was a challenge to come up here, become familiar with another system and different coaches and players in a different culture and environment.
“I feel like my rugby’s improving, which is nice, and, it’s neverending, like any footy player just wants to improve, and I feel like I’m making slight improvements.
“Hopefully we give ourselves another chance and earn the right to make a European final in a few weeks’ time and then push deep into the URC competition.”
Barrett also revealed that All Blacks boss Scott Robertson has kept in touch while one of his star players has been over in Ireland.
“Razor has sent the odd text, which is nice, and it shows he’s keeping an eye on things, and so have the other coaches. Just touching base and making sure things are tracking well and that I’m healthy and playing good footy,” he added.
“I feel like I’ll be ready to go and hopefully take some form into an All Blacks jersey, which is the main reason why I wanted to come up here in the first place.”
