Monty Ioane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monty Ioane
Monti Ioane - US Oyonnax vs. Stade français, 30th August 2014 (2).jpg
Birth nameMontanna Ioane
Date of birth (1994-10-30) 30 October 1994 (age 26)
Place of birthMelbourne, Australia
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
Notable relative(s)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Youth career
2012–2013 Queensland Reds
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2015
2015
2016–2017
2017–		 Stade Français
Tasman Makos
Bay of Plenty Steamers
Benetton Rugby		 2
2
22
68		 (0)
(0)
(30)
(145)
Correct as of 19 Jun 2021
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2020− Italy 6 (10)

Montanna "Monty" Ioane (born 30 October 1994) is an Italy-based Australian professional rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Benetton Rugby in the Pro14, and plays for the Italy national rugby union team.[1] Ioane previously played for Stade Français, Tasman Mako, and Bay of Plenty Steamers.

Early life[]

Monty Ioane was born to a Samoan father, Paul, and a Fijian mother, Vika, in Melbourne, Victoria.[2] As a young child Monty did not enjoy playing rugby and quit the sport until returning to it at age 12.[3] After receiving a scholarship,[4] Monty moved to Brisbane, Queensland to attend Anglican Church Grammar School at age 16. He stated that the decision to leave his parents to attend boarding school was difficult but his uncle Digby Ioane was already based in Brisbane while playing for the Queensland Reds. Monty Ioane played rugby while attending school and advanced to the Queensland Reds Academy.[5]

At age 18, Monty Ioane moved to Paris, France to play professionally. 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.[5]

Career[]

Stade Français[]

After spending time at the Queensland Reds Academy, Ioane moved to France in November 2013 after signing to Stade Français,[6] and was a part of their U21 squad, the Espoirs.[7] 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,[2] and has described his time there as "a learning process."[5]

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.[8][2] He played pre-season games with the squad in 2016,[5] playing against the development squads of the Blues and Hurricanes,[9] and against the Hong Kong national team in April.[10]

He signed to play for the Bay of Plenty Steamers, but was immediately placed on loan to Tasman Mako,[2] playing for them in the second-tier Championship during the 2015 ITM Cup.[11]

Bay of Plenty[]

Ioane played for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the second-tier Championship during the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup.[12] 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 Benneton, who was looking to sign a wing for his club.[13][7]

Benetton[]

In November 2017, Ioane signed to Italian side Benetton Rugby, making his return to Europe for the 2017–18 Pro14 season.[14] He extended his contract with Benetton for a further two seasons until 2020.[15]

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.[16] In July 2020, for the first time, he was invited to take part to the Italian national team camp.[17] In December 2020, he made the Italy squad again.[18]

Personal life[]

He is the nephew of Digby Ioane,[3] and is the cousin of Pete Samu,[2] both of whom have played for the Australian national team, and is the cousin of Ole Avei who plays for the Samoan national team.[19]

Ioane has two daughters with his girlfriend Melisa Dasci.[20] Ioane was born into a Catholic family but has stated he wasn't religious.[21] 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.[22] 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.[21] Ioane later received religious assistance from Benetton teammate Cherif Traore.[21][23]

He enjoys relaxing by playing the guitar or listening to music, and is an avid reader.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ "Ioane Monty".
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Player Profile - Monty Ioane". www.Mako.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Digby Ioane's model nephew scores hattrick against Scarlets". RugbyPass. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "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.
  6. ^ "Digby Ioane est à Paris" (in French). 3 November 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Monty Ioane: 'I never thought I'd play for Italy – but I fell in love'". The Times. 21 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Un altro rinforzo neozelandese per il Benetton Rugby: ecco il 23enne centro Monty Ioane" (in Italian). 16 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Rugby: Chiefs development squad named". The New Zealand Herald. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Chiefs Development team set for second Hong Kong tour". Stuff.co.nz. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Two rookie wingers set to make their NPC rugby debuts for Tasman". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  12. ^ "2016 Steamers Squad Announced". www.BOPrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  13. ^ "Cosa può dare Monty Ioane all'Italia?". OnRugby.it (in Italian). 7 July 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Gran bella notizia per il Benetton Rugby: Monty Ioane ha rinnovato fino al 2020". TrevisoToday (in Italian). 14 March 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Benetton Rugby: prolungati i contratti di Monty Ioane e Jayden Hayward" (in Italian). RugbyMeet.com. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Nazionale italiana rugby: i convocati per il raduno di Parma". OnRugby.it (in Italian). 2 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  18. ^ "IItalrugby, Prosegue La Preparazione Verso Il Galles. Convocato Monty Ioane" (in Italian). Italian Rugby Federation. 1 December 2020.
  19. ^ Schofield, Daniel (13 February 2021). "Italy's rising star Monty Ioane on tattoos, tears and Azzurri's 'awesome opportunity' at Twickenham". The Telegraph.
  20. ^ "Life in lockdown: Australian Monty Ioane's Italian story". ESPN.com. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c "'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.
  22. ^ "Atlet Rugbi Asal Australia Memeluk Islam Usai Dengar Cerita Wilhelm Ott" (in Indonesian). Okezone.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  23. ^ "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.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""