Gordon D’Arcy: Let’s see what Rieko Ioane’s Leinster performances say about him

Ireland are relative latecomers to the top table of international rugby, where the acknowledgment of that status has been hard won in terms of respect.

The traditional order in world rugby usually involved a three-cornered dispute between New Zealand, South Africa and, for a time, Australia, while England’s 2003 World Cup triumph briefly reordered the rankings. Maybe it’s a northern hemisphere thing but we were usually afforded a bit more respect by England and France.

Social media became animated by the announcement that Rieko Ioane will join Leinster on a similar short-term deal to the one that Jordie Barrett is enjoying with the province; the latter has made a huge impact to the delight of the Leinster supporters.

Ioane’s headline moments north of the equator have centred on post-match comments and social media posts more than his performances on the pitch. I’ve always been of the mind that if you are going to do a bit of sledging you must back it up on the pitch.