Jordie Barrett: All Blacks midfielder on his Ireland sabbatical, Rieko Ioane signing with Leinster

All Blacks midfielder Jordie Barrett has revealed his partner in crime Rieko Ioane reached out for some advice before signing a sabbatical deal with Irish club Leinster for 2026.  Despite receiving interest from Japan, Ioane made the bombshell move by following in Barrett’s footsteps with a move to Dublin to play in the United Rugby Championship (URC), which features teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa.  Ioane will make the move at the end of the year for a six-month stint between December and June, which rules him out for the Super Rugby Pacific season with the Blues but he remains eligible for the All Blacks.  Ioane’s announcement was met with a mainly positive response, although some Leinster faithful were clearly still bitter after his feud with the club’s favourite son and all-time leading points scorer, Johnny Sexton, which started after the All Blacks knocked Ireland out of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.  After plenty of backchat on the field, Ioane told Sexton to enjoy retirement and to not miss his flight home after New Zealand’s quarter-final win.  With Sexton relitigating that personal clash in his book, Ioane was widely painted as public enemy No 1 in the build-up to the All Blacks and Ireland rematch in Dublin last November.  Ioane led the haka before the match and played a key role on the field as the All Blacks went on to snap Ireland’s 19-game unbeaten run at home. Ioane posted a picture to social media with the caption “put that in the book” to double down on his villain status in Ireland.  Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine, Barrett said he believed Ioane can stamp his mark in Ireland.  “He sounded me out about 10 days ago and just asked a few questions,” he said.  “He didn’t say a whole lot, so I didn’t get a good inkling of where his head or heart was, but look, I woke up on my day off and the news had dropped on my phone.  “It gave me 24 hours, without having a barrage of questions at training the morning I went in there, so I got all of them yesterday.  “He’ll go great. It’s a great place to develop and he’ll see a lot of improvements up here as a player, and get out of his comfort zone in Auckland and the Blues and [it’s] a chance to grow.  “I think it’s a great challenge for him.”  Leinster's Tommy O'Brien and Jordie Barrett celebrate following the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final match at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin in Ireland. (Photo by Damien Eagers/PA Images via Getty Images) Barrett admits it’s been an adjustment for him, but he’s loving life in Ireland, especially on the golf course.  When Barrett announced his move to Ireland, it came as a shock as most players tend to take their sabbatical in Japan, like his brother Beauden did last year.  In fact, he was the first All Black since 2009 to choose Europe over Japan, when Dan Carter signed with Perpignan.  While there were concerns around his workload due to the demands of European rugby, Barrett said he had an extended break while the Six Nations took place in February and March.  During that time, a limited of matches were played and when they were, youngsters were given opportunities to prove themselves.  That rest has helped Barrett stay focused to help Leinster charge towards winning titles.  In the URC, they have only lost once this season – by one point to the Bulls in Pretoria – and hold an eight-point lead over the defending champions Glasgow Warriors with four games remaining in the regular season.  They face the Warriors in the final match of the season but will be confident after crushing them 52-0 in the European Championship quarter-finals last weekend.  Barrett, who has played nine games thus far between second five and fullback, admits there have been some easier games, but plenty of tough battles.  Overall, Barrett believes he’s become a better rugby player for the experience.  “I reserve that judgment for people watching on the telly, but I feel like I’m growing my game,” said Barrett.  “It was a challenge to come up here, become familiar with another system and different coaches and players in a different culture and environment.  “I feel like my rugby’s improving, which is nice, and, it’s neverending, like any footy player just wants to improve, and I feel like I’m making slight improvements.  “Hopefully we give ourselves another chance and earn the right to make a European final in a few weeks’ time and then push deep into the URC competition.”  Should Leinster go all the way in both completions, the European Rugby Champions Cup final takes place on May 25, with the URC final on June 15.  That would give Barrett enough time to return to New Zealand for the All Blacks’ test series against France, starting on July 5 in Dunedin.  Barrett says he has been in touch with All Blacks coach Scott Robertson and is eager to square off against the French.  “Razor has sent the odd text, which is nice, and it shows he’s keeping an eye on things, and so have the other coaches. Just touching base and making sure things are tracking well and that I’m healthy and playing good footy.  “I feel like I’ll be ready to go and hopefully take some form into an All Blacks jersey, which is the main reason why I wanted to come up here in the first place.”  Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.