Ioane joins quick-fire hat-trick club

RIEKO Ioane has been in a hurry ever since the All Blacks rushed him into their team as a teenager, a point underlined with his rapid hat-trick against France in Dunedin last weekend.

It took him 12 minutes, quick but not that quick by Six Nations’ standards. Austin Healey’s fastest one-two-three for England, against Italy in 2000, took him nine minutes. George North needed 60 seconds longer against the same opposition three years ago.

Ioane, 16 tries in 16 Tests, has not yet had the luxury of being unleashed against Italy in Rome. Neither did Todd Clever, the former American Eagles captain and the only forward known to have scored two international hattricks, in ten minutes against Canada in 2016 and eight minutes against Chile in 2014.