What motivates him above all else is regaining his place in the All Blacks team and being part of one that, next year, ends a 12-year wait for another World Cup. Rieko Ioane meets Luke Northmore and Cadan Murley during Leinster's Champions Cup clash with Harlequins in December. Ioane played in the second leg of a triple header that famous day in Chicago, as part of a Maori All Blacks team that beat the USA. “World rugby at the minute is so competitive and on any given day, any team can beat anyone. The box that needs ticking the most is next year’s World Cup, after playing just twice at the 2019 tournament and being a losing finalist in 2023.

Source: The Irish Times March 28, 2026 07:32 UTC