Steve Hansen has acknowledged the unbelievable talent of Blues sensation Rieko Ioane, but has cautioned the two-test All Black must work on his professionalism outside of an 80-minute game of rugby.
Ioane scored three tries in the Blues' 56-18 thrashing of the Rebels in Melbourne on Thursday night, to set an early All Blacks selection marker, with the Lions tour less than four months away.
Hansen has stressed the importance that a player with Ioane’s talent must continue his efforts off the field to harness his true ability.
“He can be anything he wants to be,” Hansen said.
“There is no doubting that Rieko has a lot of talent – what we have to get Rieko to do is get a work ethic to match that talent and we will have ourselves a superstar.
“He just can’t be patchy; he needs to understand that he has to work seven days a week really hard at his game, and if he does that he will unleash a massive amount of talent and we will see a very good rugby player.”
Speaking with Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE, the All Blacks coach said he would like to see the 19-year-old continue his development in the Blues midfield, despite his previous success on the wing – which ultimately earned him his first All Blacks call-up.
“I have always thought he was a centre, but he is a guy who can play on the wing and that allows us to give him a little bit of time to feel comfortable in the role.
“On the end-of-year tour we gave him some time on the wing, but he came in and played in the midfield against France and did very well.”
Ioane will have competition to keep his Blues spot at 13, with the return of Sonny Bill-Williams expected in March and former internationals George Moala and Rene Ranger waiting in the wings.
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