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Heated exchange between Sexton and Ioane caught on camera
By Ian Cameron
An angry exchange between Ireland flyhalf Johnny Sexton and All Blacks winger Rieko Ioane was caught on camera in the aftermath of last night’s epic Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Paris.
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In a heart-wrenching conclusion to Ireland’s World Cup, the men in green’s dreams of making history were dashed as they fell to a 28-24 defeat at Stade de France.
The clash had been intense from the kickoff, with Ireland desperately trying to fight back after New Zealand took an early and ultimately insurmountable lead. Bundee Aki and Jamison Gibson-Park scored tries for Ireland, and a penalty try added to their tally, but it was not enough to outpace the All Blacks, who showcased their rugby pedigree with tries from Leicester Fainga’anuku, Ardie Savea, and Will Jordan.
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The thrilling encounter left fans on the edge of their seats, and it was a game that was fiery throughout. However, it carried on after the 80 minutes when a heated exchange between Sexton and Ioane was caught on camera.
As the final whistle blew, it was evident that emotions were still running high. Sexton, who had been involved in verbal exchanges with New Zealand players during last year’s series win in New Zealand, appeared to take exception to something said by Ioane. The brief confrontation was captured by cameras, highlighting the tension that had carried over from their previous encounters and how much it meant to the Irish veteran.
— Michael Cuthbert Photography (@mikecuthbertuk) October 14, 2023
With Ireland’s hopes of making it to the semi-finals crushed, it also marked the end of Johnny Sexton’s illustrious career.
The Irish captain, who kicked seven points in the game but missed a crucial penalty, was visibly disappointed as he walked off the field for the last time in international rugby.
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For the Irish team and their passionate supporters, it was a heartbreaking end to a remarkable 17-match winning streak.
“I’m very proud of the boys, the nation, we couldn’t have done any more, it’s just fine margins,” said Sexton after the game. “They sucker-punched us on a few tries and that’s what champion teams do. We knew they were a great side and we fell just short unfortunately.”
I know online forums aren’t a place to marvel at humanity’s beauty (RugbyPass’s Comments Sections in particular) but even by that low bar this is pretty depressing…
That Turlough lad in the comments doesn't speak for anyone but himself.
All I have to say is fair play New Zealand, that defensive effort in the last ten minutes will be immortalised in WC history if you win it, and I hope you guys do go on to win.
That was the first Irish team that you ever got the sense could genuinely go all the way and win a WC, but there's many a great team that didn't win one! In the end it was the flip of a coin.
Yeah, huge effort from both sides, and everything left on pitch. Great entertainment for rugby fans, and backed up the next day by another cracker between Boks and France. Rugby is the winner here, and whilst it’s the last time we’ll see Sexton, O’ Mahony and a few others, they’ll be remembered well in Ireland.
Irish fans drown out the Kapa o Pango, Ioane puts his finger on his lips and he’s the disrespectful one. I loved hearing the Irish crowd but if you can’t handle shhh 🤫 then you’re a lot softer than you make out.
Joe is angry that New Zealand Kiwis scored more tries than the Irish Kiwis.
Bundee Aki has lived contentedly in Ireland for 9 years. Doubt if he’d want to return to NZ. Does anyone live in South Island anymore? You’re lucky to have all those Chinese immigrants coming into your country.
It’s a shame that there’s a couple of Irish fans on here embarrassing themselves with their completely unhinged comments. On the whole, kiwis are big fans of our Irish brothers, and if we had lost many of us would have been cheering the Irish on to win the whole thing (once we’d stopped crying of course). Not going to let a couple of nutters cloud my opinion of the Irish in general though. I’ve got some great Irish friends, and they’re amongst the best of people, and usually the ones with the best sense of humour.
There’s plenty of kiwi nutters posting on here, who would alienate anyone!
This is for the guy named Joe:
Mate, with your comments you insult a whole country for no reason, including immigrants, Maori and Irish descendants. Actually several countries including your own. You are toxic for whatever reason, when mostly everyone else tries to somehow reply polite to your insults. If you need psychiatric advise, I can recommend some good clinics. Or, whatever you smoke, you need to give up . It was an amazing game that could have gone either way. The fact that were a couple of isolated graceless winners and sore losers in both sides doesn't change the beauty of the contest. Neither the respect between the two teams and their supporters, which by now probably got drunk together on an Irish pub. Your comments are pure hatred, I don't think have anything to do with the sport contest. Unless you got bored and want to steer the sht to have some fun.
The comments posted by you Kiwi countrymen on this thread were obnoxious. There was a vile stream of rubbish posted,before I posted my first reply.I’m sure you know lots of psychiatrists, but I’m not in need of any. I agree it was a fine game, played in best sporting traditions, and could have gone either way. Johnny Sexton , highly successful outside rugby, one of Ireland’s greatest players, will ride into the sunset at the ripe old age of 38, as a great ambassador to Irish rugby. Slán!
Nobody should insult another country but any words for the repetitive insults to Irish people by NZ supporters for the last several weeks and continues. NZ supprtyers have always had a good time and welcomed in Dublin. Y’all want that to change?
Good one Julian - Sexton can at least do one thing well and that is hurl abuse at refs and other players including his own. Probably related to Joe