Canterbury Crusaders
The Canterbury Crusaders on Thursday unveiled former Australia winger Digby Ioane as the Super Rugby club’s latest signing.
Ioane, 31, played 35 Tests for Australia between 2007 and 2013 before moving to play club rugby in France and Japan.
He arrives at the Crusaders with the seven-time champions keen to bolster their backline after the departure of Nemani Nadolo and Johnny McNicholl.
Coach Scott Robertson, who takes over from Todd Blackadder next year, said Ioane was a key signing for the Crusaders.
“Digby is in the best condition of his life right now and we are excited about what he can do for this team, with his remarkable ability to create opportunities and score tries,” he said.
Ioane, who has already played Super Rugby for the Western Force and Queensland Reds, said he was looking forward to returning to the competition.
“I love the intensity and tempo of Super Rugby and the New Zealand teams are leading the charge in that respect at the moment, so I can’t wait to be a part of that,” he said.
Ioane has signed until the end of the 2018 season.
‘Canes wait on Coles, Lions confident in Super semis
The Wellington Hurricanes are prepared to wait as late as possible before their Super Rugby semi-final kick off against the Waikato Chiefs on Saturday for talismanic captain Dane Coles to prove his fitness.
Coles is struggling to overcome a severe rib injury in time to lead his side in Wellington, while the Golden Lions host the travelling Otago Highlanders in the second semi in Johannesburg.
Of the final four, only the Hurricanes and Lions have never won the southern hemisphere championship and the Lions also have injury issues with calf problems putting a question mark over captain Warren Whitely.
The Chiefs, back-to-back winners in 2012 and 2013, received a boost midweek when their captain Sam Cane was cleared to play after suffering concussion in their 60-21 thrashing of the Western Stormers last week.
The Hurricanes, who lost last year’s final to the Highlanders, draw inspiration from the uncompromising attitude of Coles who suffered a severe blow to the ribs in their quarter-final victory over the Coastal Sharks.
Coach Chris Boyd has bracketed Coles with Ricky Riccitelli at hooker for the Chiefs clash but said he would give his captain “every opportunity” to prove his fitness.
“Colesy is improving each day and doing everything he can to get himself fit, but at the end of the day we just won’t know until a little closer to kick off,” Boyd said.
Media reports in New Zealand have suggested Coles may even wear a rib protector in an attempt to front up against the Chiefs although a team official said he was unaware of this.
If Coles does take the field the Hurricanes will be fielding the same side that shut out the Sharks 41-0.
The Chiefs have the travel handicap to overcome as they return to New Zealand from South Africa looking to back up from their regular season victory over the Hurricanes.
The defending champion Highlanders continue their circumnavigation of the globe as they face the Lions in their Ellis Park fortress.
“Unlike the other South African teams, they play a running game of football, they can maul, they can scrum. They’ve got a total game,” Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph said of the Lions.
But the Highlanders have dismissed any talk they may be travel weary, and scrum-half Aaron Smith said they proved they know how to win when they held off the ACT Brumbies in a desperate final 10 minutes of their quarter-final.
“You could see how much it meant to our boys,” Smith said. “I just loved our forwards’ efforts. We’d been struggling in the scrum all night and then to really come through when it really mattered, that’s a good feeling to have.”
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