No going back for Rieko Ioane as All Black determined to prove himself in No 13 jersey

Rieko Ioane has made it clear he wants to persist with his move to the midfield in 2021 – both for the Blues and All Blacks.

After an encouraging Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, Ioane was handed the No 13 jersey for the All Blacks opening test against the Wallabies only to benched for the next match after bombing a certain try with a sloppy put-down.

He then spent some time back on the wing during the Tri Nations in Australia but the setback hasn't deterred Ioane from wanting to continue to prove himself in the midfield.

"[Midfield] is where I want to be from here on out - that's the plan," the 23-year-old told 1 News.

"Form dictates that but No 13 is where I want to be... it's hotly contested in the Blues and the All Blacks so I've just got to keep playing well and push my case."

Ioane is looking forward to the festive season after recently leaving managed isolation with the rest of the All Blacks sqaud, and spent Monday with his Blues teammates giving presents to the Salvation Army.

Fourteen days of quarantine provided plenty of time for reflection and in a season which provided challenges like no other, Ioane was relatively pleased with how it turned out.

"I had a bit of time in that isolation to do a bit of reflecting," he added on 1 News.

"There will be a bit more [reflecting] over the New Years and once we get back into it but at the moment, I'm pretty happy."