Monty Ioane

Montanna Wilson Ioane (Samoan pronunciation: [uɑːneɪ]; born 30 October 1994) is an Australian-born Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays wing for Lyon in the Top 14. He has also represented Italy at international level, having made his test debut against Wales during the Autumn Nations Cup. Ioane has previously played for clubs such as Stade Français, Tasman, Bay of Plenty, and Benetton.[2]

Monty Ioane
Ioane representing Stade Français during the 2014–15 Top 14 season, August 2014
Full nameMontanna Wilson Ioane
Date of birth (1994-10-30) 30 October 1994
Place of birthMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight93 kg (205 lb; 14 st 9 lb)[1]
SchoolAnglican Church Grammar School
Notable relative(s)Digby Ioane (uncle)
Pete Samu (cousin)
Ole Avei (cousin)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Current team Lyon
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 Stade Français 2 (0)
2015 Tasman 2 (0)
2016–2017 Bay of Plenty 22 (30)
2017–2022 Benetton 81 (155)
2023 Rebels 14 (10)
2023– Lyon 0 (0)
Correct as of 10 October 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020– Italy 25 (55)
Correct as of 10 October 2023

On 22 August 2023, he was named in the Italy's 33-man squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[3]

Early life

Monty Ioane was born to a Samoan father, Paul, and a Fijian mother, Vika, in Melbourne, Victoria.[4] As a young child Monty did not enjoy playing rugby and quit the sport until returning to it at age 12.[5] After receiving a scholarship,[6] Monty moved to Brisbane, Queensland to attend Anglican Church Grammar School at age 16. He stated that the decision to leave his parents in order to attend boarding school was difficult but his uncle Digby Ioane was already based in Brisbane and playing for the Queensland Reds. Monty Ioane played rugby while attending school and advanced to the Queensland Reds Academy.[7]

At age 18, Monty Ioane moved to Paris, France, to play professionally. His uncle Digby had signed with Stade Français and worked out a deal to have his nephew Monty sign to the club with him. In 2015, Digby shifted to playing in Japan while Monty moved to play in New Zealand.[7]

Professional career

Stade Français

After spending time at the Queensland Reds Academy, Ioane moved to France in November 2013 after signing to Stade Français,[8] and was a part of their U21 squad, the Espoirs.[9] Ioane played for the club in the first-tier French Top 14 competition during the 2014–15 season. He played six game for the club,[4] and has described his time there as "a learning process."[7]

Chiefs and Tasman Mako

In 2015, Ioane moved to New Zealand after he was recruited by Dave Rennie, head coach of the Chiefs in Super Rugby, to join their developmental squad.[10][4] He played pre-season games with the squad in 2016,[7] playing against the development squads of the Blues and Hurricanes,[11] and against the Hong Kong national team in April.[12]

He signed to play for the Bay of Plenty Steamers, but was immediately placed on loan to Tasman Mako,[4] playing for them in the second-tier Championship during the 2015 ITM Cup.[13]

Bay of Plenty

Ioane played for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the second-tier Championship during the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup.[14] In the 2017 season, Bay of Plenty reached the finals of the Championship but missed out on promotion after losing to Wellington. That year Ioane caught the eye of Antonio Pavanello, the sporting director of Benetton, who was looking to sign a wing for his club.[15][9]

Benetton

In November 2017, Ioane signed to Italian side Benetton Rugby, making his return to Europe for the 2017–18 Pro14 season.[16] He extended his contract with Benetton for a further two seasons until 2020.[17]

When the contract expired, he re-signed until 2022, making himself eligible for a call to the Italian national team. According to World Rugby's rules prior to 2018, Ioane was eligible from November 2020 after completing three years of residency in Italy.[18] In July 2020, for the first time, he was invited to take part to the Italian national team camp.[19] In December 2020, he made the Italy squad again.[20] He played with Benetton Rugby until September 2022.[21]

Statistics

List of international test tries

As of 29 September 2023[22]

Try Opposing team Location Venue Competition Date Result Score
1  England London, England Twickenham Stadium 2021 Six Nations Championship 13 February 2021 Loss 41 – 18
2  Wales Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 2021 Six Nations Championship 13 March 2021 Loss 7 – 48
3  Samoa Padua, Italy Stadio Plebiscito 2022 end-of-year rugby union internationals 5 November 2022 Win 49 – 17
4
5  Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 29 July 2023 Loss 25 - 13
6  Romania San Benedetto del Tronto Stadio Riviera delle Palme 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 19 August 2023 Win 57 – 7
7  Japan Treviso, Italy Stadio Comunale di Monigo 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches 26 August 2023 Win 42 – 21
8
9
10  Uruguay Nice, France Allianz Riviera 2023 Rugby World Cup 20 September 2023 Win 17 - 38
11  New Zealand Lyon, France Parc Olympique Lyonnais 2023 Rugby World Cup 29 September 2023 Loss 96 - 17

Personal life

He is the nephew of Digby Ioane,[5] and is the cousin of Pete Samu,[4] both of whom have played for the Australia national rugby union team, and is the cousin of Ole Avei who plays for the Samoa national rugby union team.[23]

Ioane has two daughters with his girlfriend Melisa Dasci.[24] Ioane was born into a Catholic family but has stated he wasn't religious.[25] While in Italy, aged 25, Ioane converted to Islam in June 2020 after meeting and being inspired by Austrian MMA fighter Wilhelm Ott who had converted in April during the COVID-19 lockdown.[26] Ioane described himself as being in his room and "having a low point in [his] life" when he turned to and spoke with his partner Melisa, who was born Muslim, who "started talking about God" leading him to take an interest in studying religion. After Ott messaged him one day, the two met for dinner where he learned of how Ott had changed his life in a positive direction.[25] Ioane later received religious assistance from Benetton teammate Cherif Traore.[25][27]

He enjoys relaxing by playing the guitar or listening to music, and is an avid reader.[6]

Super Rugby statistics
As of 3 June 2023[28]
SeasonTeamGamesStartsSubMinsTriesConsPensDropsPointsYelRed
2023Rebels1313096320001000
Total1313096320001000

References
  1. "Monti Ioane player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  2. "Rebels Sign Capped International Monty Ioane". Melbourne Rebels (in Italian). 12 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  3. "ITALIA, I 33 AZZURRI PER LA RUGBY WORLD CUP "FRANCIA 2023". Federazione Italiana Rugby (in Italian). 22 August 2023.
  4. "Player Profile - Monty Ioane". www.Mako.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. "Digby Ioane's model nephew scores hattrick against Scarlets". RugbyPass.com. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  6. "Rugby, Monty Ioane "Amo l'Italia, ottimista per il Sei Nazioni. Abbiamo un gioco da Emisfero Sud"". OAsport.it (in Italian). 4 February 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. "Nephew of a Wallaby wing, Monty Ioane now making his own name in Pro14". The42.ie. TheJournal.ie. 22 September 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. "Digby Ioane est à Paris" (in French). 3 November 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. "Monty Ioane: 'I never thought I'd play for Italy – but I fell in love'". The Times. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  10. "Un altro rinforzo neozelandese per il Benetton Rugby: ecco il 23enne centro Monty Ioane" (in Italian). 16 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  11. "Rugby: Chiefs development squad named". The New Zealand Herald. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  12. "Chiefs Development team set for second Hong Kong tour". Stuff.co.nz. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  13. "Two rookie wingers set to make their NPC rugby debuts for Tasman". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  14. "2016 Steamers Squad Announced". www.BOPrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  15. "Cosa può dare Monty Ioane all'Italia?". OnRugby.it (in Italian). 7 July 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  16. "Altro Rinforzo Per La Stagione 2017/2018: Dai Bay of Planty Steamers Arriva Monty Ioane". BenettonRugby.it (in Italian). 15 November 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  17. "Gran bella notizia per il Benetton Rugby: Monty Ioane ha rinnovato fino al 2020". TrevisoToday (in Italian). 14 March 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  18. "Benetton Rugby: prolungati i contratti di Monty Ioane e Jayden Hayward" (in Italian). RugbyMeet.com. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  19. "Nazionale italiana rugby: i convocati per il raduno di Parma". OnRugby.it (in Italian). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  20. "IItalrugby, Prosegue La Preparazione Verso Il Galles. Convocato Monty Ioane" (in Italian). Italian Rugby Federation. 1 December 2020.
  21. "RISOLTO CONSENSUALMENTE IL CONTRATTO DI MONTY IOANE". Benetton Rugby (in Italian). 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  22. "Montana Wilson Ioane". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  23. Schofield, Daniel (13 February 2021). "Italy's rising star Monty Ioane on tattoos, tears and Azzurri's 'awesome opportunity' at Twickenham". The Daily Telegraph.
  24. "Life in lockdown: Australian Monty Ioane's Italian story". ESPN.com. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  25. "'I really took it out on people if I had a bad game': Monty Ioane on converting to Islam, his dapper tattoos and uncle Digby's tears on his Italy debut". RugbyPass.com. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  26. "Atlet Rugbi Asal Australia Memeluk Islam Usai Dengar Cerita Wilhelm Ott" (in Indonesian). Okezone.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  27. "Italy prop Cherif Traoré: "I want to be one of the best front-rows in Europe"". RugbyWorld.com. 4 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  28. "Player Statistics". It's Rugby.
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