Rieko Ioane: All Blacks centre to join Irish provinc Leinster on sabbatical for next season | Rugby Union News happymamay

The New Zealand Rico Iwan Center will join Linnes next season of Blues in Super Rajabi on Saturday, and it has been confirmed.

The 28 -year -old has played with Auckland since 2016, making his first appearance in the same year.

Writing on Instagram on Wednesday, IOANE said: “What [sic] I just wanted to announce, I will go to Lingter at the end of the year at a break.

“It is an exciting opportunity to play in Ireland for a creative team, develop my game and try something different with my family.

“It will return to the rocks and ready for rocks in the second half of 2026. Until then it was imprisoned with my Blues brothers.”

IOANE will spend six months in Ireland from December before returning to New Zealand and follow the footsteps of his international teammate, Jordi Barrett, who joined Lingter in a similar deal this season.

The Blues said at X:

“We will return to the blue (right) in 2027. Work is still to do this year.”

Transport is the latest in a group of large Leinster movements.

The Dublin -based province has already signed a SpringBok Lock Snyman from competitors when the latter was forced to choose between Snyman and Jean Keyyn.

Lindster has also renewed the French pillar of Raba Soleimani for the next season, a step that angered some from outside the province after the new IRFU performance director David Humphrez stated that Irish province will not be allowed to sign NIQ (not eligible from Irish) from 2025/26 onwards, and then, will lead to saying.

IOANE – Like Jordie Barrett before it – it reaches the midfield options in Leinster including Ireland Internationals Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw.

British and Irish black and Irish tour in Australia on Sky Sports

Sky Sports It will appear exclusively for the British and Irish black tour of 2025, with the three tests against Wallabies and six warm -up matches exclusively.