Brisbane Global Rugby Tens: Digby Ioane back in Brisbane to face some familiar faces in red
DIGBY Ioane expects his rebirth in Crusaders colours on his favourite Suncorp Stadium turf to stir only playful niggle from former Reds teammates and fans.
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DIGBY Ioane expects his rebirth in Crusaders colours on his favourite Suncorp Stadium turf to stir only playful niggle from former Reds teammates and fans.
The former Wallabies flyer is a true wildcard at the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens on Saturday and Sunday because no one expected to see him again at the top level.
His two-season stint with Japanese club Honda Heat always had the hallmarks of a winger winding down not revving up after he’d finishing with French rugby.
He still owns a cult following in Queensland but how much turf-shredding drive remains in his 31-year-old legs is the bigger question.
The shrewd Crusaders certainly believe there is to recruit him to replace the strike-power of giant wing hit Nemani Nadolo.
“I still have some good rugby left in me and I love playing Super Rugby so I wasn’t feeling like I was about to hang up the boots,” Ioane said.
“When the opportunity at the Crusaders came up I jumped at it.
“I’m very grateful. The reason many players see the Crusaders as a top rival is because they are one of the most successful Super Rugby sides.”
The Tens will be a thrilling try-fest.
Ioane, Eto Nabuli (Reds), Reece Robinson (Waratahs), Sefa Naivalu (Rebels), Rene Ranger (Blues), Josua Tuisova (Toulon) and Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes) are among the finishers who will relish the open spaces of 10-a-side rugby.
In the lottery of 21 pool games, it is only crazy coincidence that throws Ioane into a feature Pool B clash against his old Reds team at 6pm on Saturday.
“Yeah, it’s funny how things work out,” Ioane said.
“I guess rugby fans and media might read something into it but to be honest, for me, it’s just the next game that I need to prepare and get up for.
“It’s a completely different Reds team to the one I played for, so it’s not really all that different to playing other teams.”
It’s not as divorced, as he might think, from the Reds he played with for six seasons (2008-13) because James Slipper, Leroy Houston, Rob Simmons and Chris Latham are former allies.
“They might enjoy giving me a bit of stick on the field I guess but I’m not one to take that too seriously,” Ioane said.
“I am sure the Brisbane crowd will be backing their team and so they should.”
On this same patch, it was Ioane’s classic long-range try that sunk the Crusaders when the Reds celebrated their 2011 Super Rugby final triumph.
“None of the Crusaders players seem to be holding a grudge for the 2011 final and hopefully the fans won’t either,” Ioane said.
Time to write some new history.
Originally published as Brisbane Global Rugby Tens: Digby Ioane back in Brisbane to face some familiar faces in red
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