Monty Ioane
Montanna "Monty" Ioane (born 30 October 1994) is an Italy-based Australian professional rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Benetton Rugby in the Pro14, and plays for the Italy national rugby union team. Ioane previously played for Stade Français, Tasman Mako, and Bay of Plenty Steamers. Early life. Monty Ioane was born to a Samoan father, Paul, and a Fijian mother, Vika, in Melbourne, Victoria. As a young child Monty did not enjoy playing rugby and quit the sport until returning to it at age 12. After receiving a scholarship, Monty moved to Brisbane, Queensland to attend  Anglican Church Grammar School at age 16. He stated that the decision to leave his parents in order to attend boarding school was difficult but his uncle Digby Ioane was already based in Brisbane and playing for the Queensland Reds. Monty Ioane played rugby while attending school and advanced to the Queensland Reds Academy. At age 18, Monty Ioane moved to Paris, France, to play professionally. His uncle Digby had signed with Stade Français and worked out a deal to have his nephew Monty sign to the club with him. In 2015, Digby shifted to playing in Japan while Monty  moved to play in New Zealand. Career. Stade Français. After spending time at the Queensland Reds Academy, Ioane moved to France in November 2013 after signing to Stade Français, and was a part of their U21 squad, the Espoirs. Ioane played for the club in the first-tier French Top 14 competition during the 2014–15 season. He played six game for the club, and has described his time there as "a learning process." Chiefs and Tasman Mako. In 2015, Ioane moved to New Zealand after he was recruited by Dave Rennie, head coach of the Chiefs in Super Rugby, to  join their developmental squad. He played pre-season games with the squad in 2016, playing against the development squads of the Blues and Hurricanes, and against the Hong Kong national team in April. He signed to play for the Bay of Plenty Steamers, but was immediately placed on loan to Tasman Mako, playing for them in the second-tier Championship during the 2015 ITM Cup. Bay of Plenty. Ioane played for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the second-tier Championship during the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup. In the 2017 season, Bay of Plenty reached the finals of the Championship  but missed out on promotion after losing to Wellington. That year Ioane caught the eye of Antonio Pavanello, the sporting director of Benneton, who was looking to sign a wing for his club. Benetton. In November 2017, Ioane signed to Italian side Benetton Rugby, making his return to Europe for the 2017–18 Pro14 season. He extended his contract with Benetton for a further two seasons until 2020. When the contract expired, he re-signed until 2022, making himself eligible for a call to the Italian national team. According to World Rugby's rules prior to 2018, Ioane was eligible from  November 2020 after completing three years of residency in Italy. In July 2020, for the first time, he was invited to take part to the Italian national team camp. In December 2020, he made the Italy squad again. Personal life. He is the nephew of Digby Ioane, and is the cousin of Pete Samu, both of whom have played for the Australia national rugby union team, and is the cousin of Ole Avei who plays for the Samoa national rugby union team. Ioane has two daughters with his girlfriend Melisa Dasci. Ioane was born into a Catholic family but has  stated he wasn't religious. While in Italy, aged 25, Ioane converted to Islam in June 2020 after meeting and being inspired by Austrian MMA fighter Wilhelm Ott who had converted in April during the COVID-19 lockdown. Ioane described himself as being in his room and "having a low point in [his] life" when he turned to and spoke with his partner Melisa, who was born Muslim, who "started talking about God" leading him to take an interest in studying religion. After Ott messaged him one day, the two met for dinner where he learned of how Ott had changed  his life in a positive direction. Ioane later received religious assistance from Benetton teammate Cherif Traore. He enjoys relaxing by playing the guitar or listening to music, and is an avid reader.