Super Rugby Pacific: Josh Ioane impresses for Chiefs in win over Highlanders

Josh Ioane made his Chiefs debut against the Highlanders in Wakatipu. Photo / Photosport

After spending four years in Dunedin playing for the Highlanders, Josh Ioane has moved north to continue his career, and settled in nicely.

"I had a little bit to do with the boys through the Māori All Blacks and I enjoyed that sort of environment," Ioane said during the preseason of his decision to join the Chiefs. "I had a bit to do with them and the coaching staff, I had heard a lot about their culture as well and I thought that was big, so that was telling it was a good fit."

While he might not have expected to be playing his first home game with his new club in the deep south, the one-test All Blacks first five-eighth impressed in a 53-minute stint against his old club, helping lift the Chiefs to a 26-16 win.

Ioane managed the game nicely in the starting pivot role, particularly through his kicking in open play, while also got opened his point tally for his new club from the tee.

It was the sport of club debut Chiefs Clayton McMillan had hoped to see.

"I thought Josh did really well," McMillan said. "Obviously, he's been a Highlander for several years now and I would imagine anyone who transitions into another team has a little bit of a sense of split loyalties in some respect, but he's really immersed himself in our environment, he's fit, he's contributed a lot, and I thought for the time that he was on the field he did a really great job and set Bryn (Gatland) up to come on and finish up. I thought it was a great start."

Ioane wasn't the only player to have a successful Chiefs debut in the match. Outside back Emoni Narawa showed positive signs in his debut at fullback, while lock Laghlan McWhannell was a force alongside Brodie Retallick.

For McWhannell, a debut Super Rugby appearance for the Chiefs seemed to have been a long time coming. The 23-year-old has been a member of the Chiefs squad for the last three years, but an unfortunate string of injuries had prevented him from being able to make the next step in his career.

He made the most of it on Saturday night, with an immense performance across the park.

"We saw glimpses of what he was capable of with Waikato in the NPC at the back end of last year," McMillan said of McWhannell. "He's worked really hard – he recognises that we've got a pretty decent stock of locks at the moment so everybody's pushing hard.

"He earned his opportunity to start today and, off the back of that performance, it's going to be hard to leave him out."