Controversial New Zealand centre Rieko Ioane has announced he will join Leinster next season on a sabbatical in a shock move. The 28-year-old has played for Auckland side Blues since 2016 and made his All Blacks debut in the same year. Ioane was involved in post-match incident with Johnny Sexton following Ireland's loss to New Zealand in the quarter-finals of 2023 Rugby World Cup, the Ireland and Leinster legend's last ever game as a player. Following the full-time whistle, he told Sexton to 'enjoy retirement' and to 'not miss his flight home'. Announcing his decision to move to Leinster on Instagram, Ioane said: “Whats up fam just wanted to announce, I’ll be heading to Leinster at the end of the year on a sabbatical break. “It’s an exciting opportunity to play in Ireland for an iconic team, grow my game and experience something different with my family. “Will be back refreshed and ready to rock second half of 2026. Until then locked in with my blues brothers.” Ioane will spend six months in Ireland from December before returning to New Zealand and follows in the footsteps of international team-mate Jordie Barrett, who joined Leinster on a similar deal this season. However, Barrett had strong links to Ireland after spending a number of years in Meath as a child. The Irish Mirror has a rugby WhatsApp group where you can get breaking news and top stories straight to your phone. Click here to join. You can leave our group at any time if you don't like it.