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Scott Robertson weighs in on the Johnny Sexton drama
By Ned Lester
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is expecting some hostility when his team land in Europe for their Northern Tour, but isn’t concerned about any repercussions of Johnny Sexton and Rieko Ioane’s recent spat.
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Sexton made headlines recently when a snippet from his autobiography ‘Obsession’ was released and revealed the former Ireland star’s take on how things played out following the final whistle of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final his side lost to New Zealand.
In alignment with what was rumoured to have been said at the time, Sexton retold the story by quoting Ioane: “Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement, you c***.”
Sexton then wrote: “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*****.
“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.”
Ioane responded with a cryptic Instagram story featuring an image of the two from the match, the song ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries and two emojis: a Joker card and a house.
Appearing on a recent podcast, Sexton said he never meant to spark any big drama and clarified he doesn’t think badly of Ioane, wanting to avoid a ‘tit for tat’, prolonging the saga.
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However, with a rematch between the two sides slated for November eighth, excitement from across the rugby world has been building, excitement only amplified by the idea of bad blood.
After a week of radio silence on the story, Scott Robertson stepped in front of the media to discuss the upcoming tour. The coach was asked jokingly if he’d received any fan mail from Sexton.
“Not personally,” Robertson replied with a grin.
“Look, it’s a bit of a story, isn’t it? A bit of history in the channels of time. I had a quick talk to Rieko about it and asked if he thought I should discuss it and he said ‘nah, nah, it’s all done coach.’
“I think when people write books and bring up those moments, it’s going to create chat and talk and that’s part of the game. It doesn’t matter what sport, you’re going to have those little rivalries. But, there’s still a lot of respect that we need to show.”
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Asked whether he was expecting some hostility up north, Robertson didn’t hesitate.
“Yeah! That’s all part of it, isn’t it? I think that the passion that they bring and the singing and getting to the games early, having a couple of quiet ones. It’s just a different atmosphere and that’s what we’ll embrace and look forward to.”
Whether it be for the drama or rugby spectacle, the quarter-final rematch is sure to bring plenty of eyes and continue the evolving rivalry between the northern and southern hemispheres; a rivalry that is growing increasingly unpredictable.
“The margins, if you look at it historically, the stats, the competition’s evened up; smaller margins, tighter matches. Defensively, teams are better, they’re more aggressive, they’ll turn you in,” Robertson said.
“But, there’s still opportunities and that’s what we’re looking for. People go into the match thinking ‘What’s going to happen?’ That’s the entertainment part of the game.”
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It says quite a lot about the mentality of Reiko that he waited for the final whistle to say something. Maybe there’s an underlying sense of vulnerability there. Didn’t say anything till the result was secured. And it’s an uncharacteristic outburst coming from an All Black. It’s a bit odd
Retallick also made an outburst to Peter O'Mahony. Ioane also was caught gesturing in a way intended to be offensive to the Irish crowd. Foster and Cane backed Ioane in the presser. It's quite clear that NZ rugby are responsible and accountable for the respect shown by their players. Radio silence there. Mack Hansen in an interview recorded in an article on this site said that Ioane and apparently kept antagonizing online that evening with NZ WAGs joining in. This is not about Rioko Ioane showing disrespect. Its about NZ showing disrespect to Ireland. If they are serious about their self view as 'humble' then this is a bit of a head scratcher.
My theory is that Foster demonized Ireland as the source of NZ woes, with the sledge on Cane picked up by the ref mic as the lightening rod. That is a good way to motivate players but surely the smart thing to do (even if respect is not a motive) is to behave humbly after the whistle. After all, why set yourself up for a revenge mission by Ireland?
The problem is mocking captain, vice captain and spectators after such a massive game (after any game) is extremely disrespectful. Ireland has permanently reset its view on NZ, its legacy and its so called humility. Ireland won't have any fear of meeting NZ in a World Cup again. They will be preparing for it and praying for it.
I like Razor. But I honestly think NZ don't quite understand the import of what their players did after the final whistle in the QF in Paris. It wasn't just one Irish player that was abused after the whistle, and it wasn't just players, the Irish crowd was gestured at too. We all know that this was entirely in revenge for the hurt that was caused by Ireland's victory in the NZ series.
Imagine the furore if Ireland had abused the NZ captain and vice captain right after the series win in Wellington and then Sexton had taken a couple of go's mocking the crowd? You just do not do that to a beaten team, no exceptions for NZ. It's utter arrogance.
How NZ behaves in an era with more competition and less dominance is a decent test of their humility and legacy. Both have been thrown out of the pram unfortunately, with the reactions to the Irish series loss, the mocking of Ireland after the QF and the melt down after the World Cup Final where referees were attacked by the NZ manger leading to death threats and threats of violence against a referee, his wife and family.
It's not really a question of Ireland getting over it. Ireland join the other rugby nations who are a little wiser about NZ and it's "humility".
I don’t think it’s a question of arrogance. Quite the contrary… it shows that there was a lot of emotion in the way they handled that game. Almost as if they were releasing a lot of built up pressure. Relief almost. They’re not used to being challenged by teams like Ireland, in the past they got used to showing up and getting the result… now, they feel like they’re exposed, they don’t feel like the result is a foregone conclusion …