After the bitter disappointment of Saturday night's World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand, there were some afters involving Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.
The last eight exit for Ireland marked Sexton's final game of professional rugby, with the 38-year-old retiring with immediate effect in the aftermath of the World Cup.
To add to the heartbreak of the agonising defeat, Ireland fans had to contend with the retirement of not only Sexton, but also fellow legend Keith Earls, and hints that others may follow suit.
Emotions were running high in the moments after the final whistle, with Sexton and his son Luca sharing a poignant moment before embracing with former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt.
For Sexton, however, frustration appeared to spill over as he clashed with All-Black Rieko Ioane during the post-match handshakes - and recently released footage sheds new light on the incident.
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New footage reveals the origin of the Johnny Sexton - Rieko Ioane clash
In the moments after Ireland were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup, TV cameras captured a heated disagreement between Ireland captain Johnny Sexton and New Zealand centre Rieko Ioane.
Sexton appeared disgruntled by something Ioane had done to rile up the Irish outhalf, and now World Rugby have released spidercam footage that gives an added glimpse of what preceded the exchange.
The footage shows Sexton standing still, utterly dejected after an immense 80 minutes of test rugby, as All Blacks including Beauden Barrett offered a consolatory handshake.
As Ioane approaches the Irish legend, he shakes Sexton's hands before exchanging words with Sexton. As Ioane walkes away, Sexton begins to shout after the All Black, before approaching him and confronting the New Zealander. Ultimately, Jack Conan shepherds Sexton away.
@rugbyworldcup There has to be a winner and a loser 🤝 #rugby #IREvNZL #RWC2023 ♬ To build a home - 𝙇𝙭𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙯 🫶
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The video above clearly shows something being said between Johnny Sexton and Rieko Ioane, though it is impossible to decipher what may have been said between the pair.
In his Irish Times match report, rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley suggested that Ioane drew the ire of Sexton by raising a finger to his lips in the direction of the Irish supporters.
Meanwhile, there's a whatsapp screengrab doing the rounds purportedly from Sam Cane where Ioane is alleged to have passed a sarcastic comment to Sexton encouraging the 38-year-old to "enjoy retirement and not miss the flight home tomorrow."
Saturday night's game was a bittersweet manner for Johnny Sexton's rugby career to end, with an epic performance ultimately ending in defeat at the last eight stage yet again, and evidently frustration boiled over for the veteran after the full-time whistle.
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