A move to Dublin awaits Rieko Ioane at the end of November as he follows long-time centre partner Jordie Barrett for a short-term sabbatical at Leinster that he may hope proves restorative. The All Blacks wing-cum-centre-cum-wing-again has not yet celebrated his 29th birthday but finds himself currently out of the New Zealand side; an outside-back reshuffle may loom with Caleb Clarke out of the encounter with England but Scott Robertson’s recent selections suggest that Leicester Fainga’anku, Quinn Tupaea and Billy Proctor have supplanted Ioane in the chase for the No 13 shirt.
Such is life in a nation perhaps more richly resourced in elite rugby athletes than any other. Ioane may yet come again but has this year been pushed to the periphery, starting five matches on the wing, and then out of the matchday squad entirely.
His last 10 matches clad in black have produced just a single score – it is a genuine question if a player who once seemed destined to race into the record books after amassing 22 tries in his first 21 Tests will score many more.
Ioane will, at least, find a few ex-New Zealand internationals who will be able to sympathise. He is far from the first to befall such a fate; indeed, by dint of his centre versatility, the 87-capper has lasted longer than most.
It is 18 years since Doug Howlett scored his 49th and final international try, and still no New Zealand men’s player, with a deserved nod to Black Ferns star Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, has cracked 50. From Jeff Wilson to Christian Cullen, Joe Rokocoko to Julian Savea, the country has produced a great many marksmen but no-one with the longevity to challenge the disputed Test record tally of 69 of Japan’s Daisuke Ohata. Howlett is the sole Kiwi in the top 10 all-time Test try scorers but there are seven All Blacks between positions 11 and 20.
Most All Blacks Tries |
Player |
Tests |
Tries |
1 |
Doug Howlett |
62 |
49 |
2 |
Christian Cullen |
58 |
46 |
2 |
Joe Rokocoko |
68 |
46 |
2 |
Julian Savea |
54 |
46 |
5 |
Beauden Barrett |
143 |
45 |
6 |
Will Jordan |
52 |
44 |
6 |
Jeff Wilson |
60 |
44 |
8 |
Ben Smith |
84 |
39 |
9 |
Rieko Ioane |
87 |
38 |
10 |
Jonah Lomu |
63 |
37 |
It is a perhaps peculiar trend that extends deeper still – Sitiveni Sivivatu, for example, reaped 29 tries in 44 All Blacks appearances. But he played his last international at the age of 29 shortly after agreeing a move to Clermont Auvergne. Rokocoko was not yet 28 when Graham Henry wielded the axe; Savea’s 27th birthday celebrations were overshadowed by his dropping from the squad for the 2017 Rugby Championship.
“Our lifespan as wingers in New Zealand is really short, they’re always coming out the woodwork so you’ve got to be on your toes,” Rokocoko reflected in an interview with Sky Sports shortly after Savea lost his place in 2017.
“You may be Julian Savea, Jonah Lomu or Jeff Wilson, you can be doing your thing and someone comes along and does it better or flashier, then he’s the next big thing. That jersey isn’t ours – we’re just caretakers. You try to take care of it, then someone comes after you to take over, to take on the burden and to carry that jersey forward.”
Try records are funny things, pursued by some, trivial to others. Christian Wade has made mention of chasing down Chris Ashton’s Prem Rugby record after signing deals at Gloucester and Newcastle in the last two years. But it would have given Damian Penaud little consolation to go past Serge Blanco with his 39th and 40th tries on Saturday evening, given the Springboks surge that followed in France’s defeat to South Africa.
Ohata’s mark – swelled by tries against England A, Australia A and the disbanded Arabian Gulf – could well be under threat before long from Georgia’s Akaki Tabutsadze, who has hit 50 in just 55 Tests, and Howlett’s All Blacks record should soon be surpassed, finally, too. Beauden Barrett, as important as ever to head coach Robertson, sits just four behind the record-holder but the greater threat comes from Will Jordan, who snared try No 44 in the win over Scotland and looks set to buck the back-three trend.
Jordan will soon be 28 but there are few suggestions that he does not have a long international future ahead of him at full-back. Having broken in to the team on the wing, the Crusader has excelled in his preferred position, though Robertson may consider bringing Damian McKenzie into the starting side and shifting Jordan back wider to compensate for the loss of Clarke. Perhaps less reliant on sheer explosiveness of athleticism as some of those who have fallen short before, there is little reason why Jordan, already contracted through to the end of the 2027 World Cup, cannot blow past his compatriots and beyond.
“For me it’s always been about trying to have longevity and influence in the black jersey, so that’s the thing that will come from that,” Jordan told The Post in September. “Try-scoring is certainly part of your role as a back three.
“They don’t necessarily count stats as to how many lineouts you’ve taken or how many dominant shots you put on in other positions, so it’s a bit different in that regard.
“Probably the part I find coolest about it is being up in that space and just seeing the names there. It’s kind of the who’s who of back-three players in New Zealand… guys you grew up wanting to watch.
“As an All Black fan first, you always want the back three to create excitement in the game and have you on the edge of your seat, so I guess that’s something I’ve tried to emulate from those guys, to provide some energy and spark.”
