We've been treated to some snippets from Johnny Sexton's upcoming autobiography in recent weeks, with extracts of the book being serialised in the Sunday Times.
Co-authored by Times writer Peter O'Reilly, the book is set to be released next week. Judging by the segments we've been treated to so far, it's set to be explosive.
Sexton has made headlines over the past weeks for several of the stories told thus far, most notably drawing the ire of many in New Zealand rugby for his retelling of the post-World Cup quarter-final scrap with Rieko Ioane.
Ioane himself responded on social media to Sexton's account of the spat, while All Blacks legend Israel Dagg slated Sexton in response.
There were also eye-opening segments on his early rivalry with and borderline hatred of Ronan O'Gara, and the violent manners in which that manifested itself.
Given the fiery presence Sexton occupied on the pitch, the explosive nature of his autobiography is not entirely surprising.
However, another segment of the book published in the Times last weekend gives an insight into a very different side to Sexton's character.
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Story of retirement chat with son shows different side to Johnny Sexton
The heartbreak of last year's Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat was only worsened for Irish fans by the knowledge we would never see the great Johnny Sexton on a rugby pitch again.
Ireland captain Sexton retired from the professional game immediately after the tournament, and the scenes of him parading around the Stade de France last October were bittersweet for fans.
It was an especially painful experience for his nine-year-old son Luca, who was not used to seeing this Ireland team losing.
He didn’t enjoy it, and he wasn’t used to seeing his mum and dad so upset.
For someone so young it was a lot to deal with. He was only nine, a few years younger than Gabe Farrell, Ellis Catt, Ffredi Easterby and Paddy O’Connell — our coaches’ sons — but they kindly let him pal around with them over in France, whether in the hotel or sometimes on the team bus to training. They looked after him like a younger brother.
Now he was back at school, hanging around with lads his own age again. Or his two younger sisters, who were oblivious to the World Cup. What a comedown.
Though many of the most-publicised stories from Sexton's book thus far have painted him as a hardened figure, his story of the post-World Cup retirement chat with Luca bring a far more tender side of the former fly-half into the spotlight.
‘Will we still go to the Six Nations?’ he asked me, hopefully.
‘We’ll see,’ I answered.
‘But we won’t be able to go out on the pitch again, will we?'
No, we wouldn’t get to go out on the pitch again.
It's heartbreaking, especially for Sexton's young son.
At least, for Luca's sake, the pair got to take to the Aviva Stadium pitch one last time the following month, as Sexton was honoured before Leinster's URC clash with Munster.
25 November 2023; Former Leinster captain Jonathan Sexton, alongside his son Luca, is introduced to the crowd before the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Munster at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
In the same segment, Johnny Sexton revealed that he had endeavoured to keep the 2023 Rugby World Cup WhatsApp group going, saying the cohort involved were "such a special collection of people."
However, Sexton goes on to acknowledge that he was "only kidding himself," and trying to push the reality of the situation down the line.
It seems as though the reality of retirement only truly sank in for the Irish rugby legend during his heartbreaking chat with son Luca.
