Rieko Ioane says rugby needs more spats like his infamous Johnny Sexton clash
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane says rugby needs the niggle he sparked with Ireland and Johnny Sexton.
The Blues star was addressing his surprise move to Sexton’s old club, Leinster, for the first time on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old will skip Super Rugby Pacific next year with an Irish sabbatical that is part of his contract with New Zealand Rugby (he is signed until 2027).
After Ioane’s infamous spat with Sexton, a legendary No 10 for his country and the Dublin club, jaws dropped in Ireland and New Zealand when Leinster confirmed Ioane would spend the first half of 2026 in the heart of the Irish capital.
The wounds of their 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal defeat to the All Blacks in Paris are still fresh. Ioane rubbed salt in at full-time by telling Sexton to “enjoy your retirement, you c…”.
Ioane said he was unsure about the reception he would get in Ireland. He still had a wry smile and seems happy to play the antagonising role in one of rugby’s most bitter, more genuine public disputes.
“Whatever happens, I'm not too sure,” he said.
“By all my friends' accounts, you know, it's about 50/50 at the moment, so we’ll try to get that 60/40.
“The reception will be awesome.”
The hearty Irish public will determine that. It could be hostile. They’re unlikely to forget what Ioane told one of their most beloved sons in the aftermath of an agonising 28-24 loss.
Ireland’s hideous quarterfinal hoodoo endures after the men in green arrived as one of the favourites to win their first World Cup title in France. They have still never made the semifinals since the first global tournament in 1987.
“Fans will be fans. I'm no stranger to a bit of this,” Ioane said.
“Rugby needs more of this. I love this side of the game. As I said, it seems 50/50.”
Ioane appeared to be referring to the greater push from rugby’s bosses for compelling storylines to sell and promote the game, something the sport has struggled with since turning professional.
His and Sexton’s clash resurfaced last year when the latter released his book and wrote in greater detail about the exchange in Paris.
What Sexton said about the exchange
“And as I stand there, hands on hips, staring in disbelief at [referee Wayne] 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…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.“
Ioane replied on social media. His post featured Ireland’s World Cup song, Zombie by the Cranberries, and the lyric from the chorus “in your head”.
He used Instagram for another dig when the All Blacks beat Ireland 23-13 in Dublin last November and said “put that in the book”, including a picture of the Joker from Batman with Ioane’s No 13 on a playing card. Ioane also led the All Blacks’ haka before the test.
The fickle nature of sport means the Leinster faithful might be kinder to Ioane if he was to score a try on his debut.
“Hopefully, then we'll get about 70-30, then I can be happy,” Ioane said.
“We’ll see once we're over there. That's it. It’s a huge headline.
“For me, it's more about just getting to the club and playing the best rugby with the boys, meeting new team-mates, something I haven’t done for about eight or nine years.”
He said Leinster was an attractive propostion and did lean on Jordie Barrett for advice. Ioane’s All Blacks midfield partner has played for the club since December on his sabbatical.
“I'm not a golfer, but he said it's been awesome and is something he'll have fond memories of. He's still got some more footy to play,” Ioane said.
“They’re one of those clubs with a lot of rich history. What I have seen, it looks pretty enjoyable.
“It’s just something fresh. It's a place that my family and partner haven’t travelled and visited much, or enough of, so there’s that too.”
After Leinster, he will return to play for the Blues in hoping to retain his place in Scott Robertson’s plans for the next World Cup in Australia in 2027.
Ioane’s talent and emerging at such a young age (he made his test debut aged 20 in the 2017 Lions series) has subjected him to more scrutiny than most.
Aged 28, Ioane has played 81 tests but has found his status as the All Blacks’ starting centre questioned.
His position, however, seems more secure after Chiefs midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown broke his collarbone.
“In terms of where I want to get to, we're still building. As players, we see everything and headlines and whatnot, but that's just all part of it,” Ioane said.
“I've been in years like this before. Coming into the season, it's been different sort of headlines.
“I'm happy as always, just that slow burn, slow build, and I just want the best I can to perform the best I can for my brothers, the Blues.”
Ioane has played every match for the Blues in 2025. After wobbling in the first half of the season, Vern Cotter’s defending champions appear to have timed their run well to make top six who contest the play-offs.
They occupied fifth place, albeit having played one game more, ahead of a vital fixture against Moana Pasifika in Albany on Saturday. Their Auckland neighbours sat seventh, trailing by just three competition points.