All Blacks midfielder Rieko Ioane has hit back at former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton with an Instagram story. The pair have been in the headlines the last couple of days after an extract of Sexton’s soon-to-be-released autobiography was released.
In the passage that was published by The Sunday Times, Sexton reflected on an exchange between himself and Ioane after last year’s thrilling Rugby World Cup quarter-final. The All Blacks had just ended Ireland’s World Cup dream, and so too Sexton’s rugby career.
It was a bit of an unusual week in Paris as the All Blacks went into a quarter-final as the underdogs for maybe the first time in Rugby World Cup history. Ireland had beaten South Africa in pool play and were tipped by many to go all the way to glory.
Thousands of Irish supporters packed the stands at Stade de France for what promised to be one of the biggest knockout matches in Rugby World Cup history. But the All Blacks certainly came to play, and in the end, time just wasn’t on Ireland’s side.
The men in green launched one last attack on the All Blacks but they stood tall. With a moment of magic from Sam Whitelock to win a penalty at the breakdown, Ireland’s World Cup dream was over with a 28-24 defeat.
But, even with the sound of the full-time whistle, that was never going to put an end to the emotion of the occasion right way.
“I couldn’t bring myself to watch the quarter-final back,” Sexton wrote in the extract. “I don’t think I ever will. I don’t need to. I’ve mentally replayed every second, over and over. It finishes the same way ever time.
“… After (referee Wayne) Barnes blows the final whistle, he says, ‘Don’t miss your flight home tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c**t.’ So much for the All Blacks’ famous ‘no dickheads’ policy. So much fr 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.”
Former Ireland hooker James Tracy has responded to the exchange, and former NRL playmaker Shaun Johnson has somewhat jokingly urged the All Black to consider jumper codes as they “love a villain” in the 13-player game.
But, until now, the rugby world hadn’t heard from Ioane himself.
Ioane has taken to social media to hit back at Sexton. The 27-year-old shared a picture of the pair from last year’s quarter-final, with a joker card above Ioane’s head and a house emoji below the now-retired Sexton.
Zombie by the Cranberries became synonymous with Irish Rugby during last year’s Rugby World Cup. Hearing the touring fans sing that song after the win over South Africa and Scotland was like nothing this writer has ever experienced or witnessed before.
Ioane has lent into that.
Accompanying the photo, Ioane has selected Zombie to play over the image.
The song starts at the “in your head” part of the chorus.
For the first time since that World Cup eliminator, the All Blacks and Ireland will meet at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on November 8. That’s part of New Zealand’s end-of-year tour which will also see them play Japan, England, France and Italy.