Johnny Sexton was undoubtedly Irish rugby's most divisive player over his 17 years at the top of the game, with no other Irish star facing as many calls to retire as him.
While Sexton's near-constant improvement may have been enough to silence his critics on this island, the former Ireland out-half took umbrage with the way one New Zealand star spoke to him at the end of his decorated career.
Sexton is of course referring to his infamous row with New Zealand's Rieko Ioane after Ireland's loss to the All Blacks in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, when he and Ioane got involved in a heated encounter after the eighty-minute battle that saw New Zealand win 28-24.
While the rhetoric after the incident tended to hold Sexton responsible for the post-match encounter, the revelations in his book Obsessed which is set to be published next month, and of which extracts were featured in today's Sunday Times paint a completely different picture.
@rugbyworldcup There has to be a winner and a loser 🤝 #rugby #IREvNZL #RWC2023 ♬ To build a home - 𝙇𝙭𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙯 🫶🏻
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Sexton bites back at World Cup encounter allegations
The now infamous encounter occurred just after the final whistle when Wayne Barnes had awarded a game-ending controversial penalty to Sam Whitelock for a poach when it appeared the New Zealand star had never released Rónan Kelleher.
Irritated by the decision, Sexton who was captain at the time, didn't retreat the usual ten metres but instead hung around to discuss the affair with Barnes, much to the dismay of Rieko Loane who according to Sexton was shouting at him to move back, despite the inevitable ending of the game.
Speaking about what happened as Barne's blew his whistle for the tournament-ending penalty, Sexton said:
I stand there, hands on hips, staring in disbelief at Barnes, Rieko Ioane still comes up to me and tells me, “Get back ten metres.” “Penalty,” he says. “Back ten.”
Then, after Barnes blows the final whistle, he says, “Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c**t.”
So much for the All Blacks’ famous “no dickheads” policy. So much for their humility. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake-humble f***er. It doesn’t look great, me having a go at one of them just after we’ve lost. But I can’t be expected to ignore that.
Sexton's explanation most certainly changes the narrative that emerged in the aftermath of the game.
While the public may not have been in the know, Sexton revealed that he contacted then-New Zealand coach Joe Schmidt to explain his post-match actions after Schmidt had been particularly graceful in victory.
Sexton also played tribute to New Zealand's Scott, Beauden and Jordie Barrett as well as Ardie Savea, who were all gracious in defeat and had 'lovely words' for the retiring Irish star.
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