With an Instagram story, All Blacks player Rieko Ioane responded to former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.
The pair have been in the spotlight the previous couple of days after an extract of Sexton’s soon-to-be-published autobiography was released.
In the section that The Sunday Times published, Sexton thought back on a conversation he had with Ioane following the exciting Rugby World Cup quarterfinal from the previous year. Both Sexton’s rugby career and Ireland’s hopes of winning the World Cup had just been dashed by the All Blacks.
For maybe the first time in Rugby World Cup history, the All Blacks entered a quarterfinal as the underdogs, making it an odd week in Paris. Ireland was widely predicted to win the entire tournament after defeating South Africa in pool play.
A large number of Irish fans crowded the Stade de France stands in anticipation of what looked to be one of the most exciting semifinal matches in Rugby World Cup history. However, the All Blacks showed up to play, and ultimately, Ireland’s luck ran out of time.
The All Blacks withstood a final assault from the men in green, but they held firm. Sam Whitelock’s magical moment to win a penalty at the breakdown ended Ireland’s World Cup hopes with a 28–24 loss.
However, the emotion surrounding the occasion would not go away, not even when the full-time whistle blew.
In the excerpt, Sexton stated, “I couldn’t bring myself to watch the quarter-final back.” “I doubt that I will ever.” I don’t need to. I’ve repeatedly mentally relived every second. Every time, it ends in the same manner.
Referee Wayne Barnes adds, “Don’t miss your flight home tomorrow,” after sounding the final whistle. You c**t, enjoy your retirement. That much is known about the All Blacks’ ‘no dickheads’ policy. Much respect for their modesty.
“I call Ioane a fake-humble f***er as I walk after him. My attempt at one of them just after we’ve lost doesn’t look well. However, I can’t be expected to disregard that.
Former NRL playmaker Shaun Johnson has somewhat humorously pushed the All Black to investigate jumper codes since they “love a villain” in the 13-player game. Former Ireland hooker James Tracy has responded to the debate.
However, Ioane himself had not been heard from until today in the rugby world.
Ioane has retaliated against Sexton on social media. The 27-year-old posted a photo of the two from the quarterfinal match from the previous year, with a house emoji beneath the now-retired Sexton and a joker card above Ioane’s head.
During the Rugby World Cup of the previous year, the song “Zombie” by the Cranberries came to represent Irish rugby. It was unlike anything this writer has ever experienced or seen before to hear the touring fans sing that song following the victory over South Africa and Scotland.
It has been lent into by Ioane.
Accompanying the photo, Ioane has selected Zombie to play over the image.
The chorus line “in your head” is where the song opens.
On November 8, the All Blacks and Ireland will play in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium for the first time since that World Cup elimination match. This is a portion of New Zealand’s year-end tour, which also includes stops in Japan, England, France, and Italy.
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