Connacht's Josh Ioane opens up on leaving wild days behind him

Ioane has settled down and now he and his partner Eloise are expecting their second child later this year.

Wed, 09 Oct, 2024 - 09:32

John Fallon

New Connacht out-half Josh Ioane says his wild days are behind him and that he’s now settled with his family in Galway after briefly hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons off the pitch a few years ago.

The one-cap All Black said it was an emotional rollercoaster last year when his father died and then his daughter was born a few weeks later.

Now 29 and with an All Black cap against Tonga in his locker, Ioane hit the headlines in 2021 when he was stood down by the Highlanders after police were dispatched to a house party in Dunedin that he had organised.

But since then he has settled down and now he and his partner Eloise are expecting their second child later this year.

"My partner and I, we talk about, 'ugh, a few years ago we were doing this,' and 'a few years ago we were doing that.' Now, I barely even drink at all,” said Ioane.

"I think becoming a father has played a big part in that. I love being a father. My daughter's one and a half now.

"I've been through a lot over the last couple of years. I lost my father last year and then I became a father two weeks later.

"And I think when you go through something like that, you're forced to grow up pretty quickly.

"So, when I look back on that I feel I've learned from that. Like I said, I've been through a lot in the last couple of years and I feel like I'm coming out the other side a lot more mature."

Connacht head coach Pete Wilkins spotted Ioane when he was part of the Irish management on the tour to New Zealand and Ioane was featuring for the Maori.

They had hoped to lure Sam Prendergast west for a time to join his brother Cian after JJ Hanrahan did his ACL, but when that didn’t work out they went after Ioane and got clearance to sign him for a season.

"Previewing the Maori and then having the games to review as well, I could see what a quality player he was so when we were aware that he might be interested in a move to Europe we were pretty quick to jump on it," said Wilkins.

"He’s been on the radar for some time, it was just a matter of becoming a viable option in terms of desire to move and we’re delighted to get him."

Ioane made a brilliant start to his Connacht career, linking up seamlessly with another new signing Ben Murphy, in their opener against Munster.

He got a head knock against Sharks and missed last weekend’s clash in Llanelli but is set to make an impact in Belfast on Saturday night against Ulster.

“I feel like going to a new club, new people, the most important thing is to earn your team-mates' respect," added Ioane.

"Hopefully I got it, and hopefully I can continue to do that going forward.”