All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane has hit back back at Johnny Sexton after the former Ireland fly-half opened up on their spat at last year’s Rugby World Cup.
The ex-playmaker revealed in his soon to be released autobiography that he called the New Zealand star a “fake-humble f****r” after Ioane taunted him at the conclusion of their World Cup quarter-final in France.
Sam Whitelock had just earned the key penalty to seal a 28-24 triumph, which took the All Blacks into the last-four of the competition and ended the Irishmen’s dreams.
The key extract
“I couldn’t bring myself to watch the quarter-final back. I don’t think I ever will. I don’t need to. I’ve mentally replayed every second, over and over,” Sexton wrote.
“It finishes the same way every time. Rónan Kelleher still ploughs into Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock. Whitelock goes in for the poach, clearly without releasing, but somehow Wayne Barnes awards him the penalty, even though it has all happened under his nose — and it’s all over.
“And as 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.’
“‘Huh?’
“‘Penalty,’ he says. ‘Back ten.’ And then, after Barnes blows the final whistle, he says, ‘Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c***.’
“So much for the All Blacks’ famous ‘no d***heads’ policy. So much for their humility. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake-humble f****r. 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.”
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The response
Ioane lit the touchpaper for this long-running feud with his comments towards his rival at the end of the game in 2023 before Sexton’s autobiography, Obsessed, took it a step further.
After extracts of the Ireland legend’s book were released on Sunday, the centre had decided not to respond – until now.
On Thursday, the 27-year-old posted a picture of him and Sexton on Instagram from that game with the Cranberries song ‘Zombie’ being played over the top.
Ioane duly shortened it to the part which sees the words “in your head” regularly repeated.
Rieko Ioane on Instagram. #JohnnySexton pic.twitter.com/PesKN99wrO
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) October 3, 2024
The song became the unofficial anthem for Ireland during the 2023 World Cup, but it has since been taken up by South African fans, who changed ‘Zombie’ to ‘Rassie’ in honour of their double World Cup-winning boss Rassie Erasmus.
And it has now been used by the All Blacks star to mock Sexton after the former fly-half’s claims in his new book, which will be released on October 10.
READ MORE: Johnny Sexton slams ‘fake-humble f****r’ Rieko Ioane as Ireland legend opens up on Rugby World Cup rant
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