Put that in the book
At the Aviva Stadium on a November Friday, New Zealand defeated Ireland 23-13, closing a chapter that had begun not on the pitch but in the charged aftermath of a World Cup elimination. The victory gave All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane something beyond a scoreline — it gave him the last word in a feud with retired Irish captain Johnny Sexton that had spilled from the field into autobiography and social media. Rivalries of this kind remind us that sport is never merely sport; it is a theatre where pride, memory, and identity are contested long after the final whistle.
- A simmering personal feud between Ioane and Sexton — ignited at the World Cup and stoked by Sexton's autobiography calling Ioane a fake — gave Friday's match an undercurrent of score-settling beyond the scoreboard.
- Ireland, playing at home in Dublin, could not translate the emotional weight of the rivalry into performance, falling 23-13 in a result that felt heavier than the margin suggests.
- Ioane led the haka, dismantled the Irish defence, and then delivered a pointed social media post referencing Sexton's book — a parting shot aimed at a man who could only watch from the sidelines in his new mentor role.
- The loss marks Ireland's second consecutive defeat to New Zealand, raising urgent questions about where Andy Farrell's side stands in the current international cycle.
- With Argentina arriving at Lansdowne Road next Friday, Ireland has almost no time to regroup — and no immediate opportunity to answer New Zealand's growing edge over them.
When the final whistle blew at the Aviva Stadium, the scoreboard read 23-13 to New Zealand — but for Rieko Ioane, the result meant something beyond the points. It was the latest move in a feud with Johnny Sexton that had been building since the two men last faced each other at the World Cup, when the All Blacks eliminated Ireland and Ioane told Sexton, in heated terms, to enjoy his retirement.
Sexton, now retired from playing and serving as a mentor within the Irish camp, had recently revisited that moment in his autobiography. He called Ioane a fake, accused the All Blacks of abandoning their tradition of humility, and made clear the encounter had stayed with him. It was the kind of public statement that demands a public answer.
On Friday, Ioane provided one. He led the haka before kick-off, helped dismantle the Irish defence during the match, and when it was over, turned to social media with a brief, pointed post — a suggestion that this result deserved a chapter in Sexton's book too. Sexton, absent from the stadium but present somewhere in the Irish operation, had to absorb it from a distance.
For Ireland, the defeat was the second consecutive loss to New Zealand in recent competition, and it leaves Andy Farrell's side with little time to reflect. Argentina arrive at Lansdowne Road next Friday, and the Autumn Nations Series waits for no one. The rivalry with New Zealand, and with Ioane in particular, will have to wait — though his parting shot made clear it is far from resolved.
The scoreboard read 23-13 when the final whistle blew at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, and Rieko Ioane had secured something more valuable than the points on display. The New Zealand centre had won the argument that had been simmering between him and Johnny Sexton since the two men last locked eyes at the World Cup.
Their feud had roots in that earlier tournament, when the All Blacks eliminated Ireland and Ioane, in the heat of the moment, told Sexton to enjoy his retirement with language that burned. Sexton, who has since hung up his boots and taken on a mentor role with the Irish squad, had written about that encounter in his newly released autobiography. He called Ioane a fake, claimed the All Blacks had abandoned their principles of humility, and said he couldn't ignore what he saw as hypocrisy from the opposition.
But on Friday, the narrative shifted. Sexton was not in the stadium—he was somewhere else in the Irish camp, working with the team in his new capacity. Ioane, meanwhile, led the All Blacks through their pre-match haka, and then went about dismantling the Irish defence alongside his teammates. When the match ended in a convincing New Zealand victory, Ioane turned to social media. His post was brief but pointed: a reference to Sexton's book, a suggestion that this result belonged in its pages too.
The 27-year-old Ioane had the last word, at least for now. The 39-year-old Sexton, retired from the field but still present in the Irish operation, had to watch it unfold from the sidelines. It was a small moment in a larger match, but it crystallized something about the intensity of this rivalry—how it had moved beyond the pitch and into the realm of public statements and published words.
For Andy Farrell's Ireland, the loss marked their second consecutive defeat to New Zealand in recent competition. The All Blacks have now won their last two meetings with the Irish, establishing a clear edge in the current cycle. The Autumn Nations Series continues for Ireland, with Argentina arriving at Lansdowne Road next Friday. There is little time to process this defeat, less time still to settle the score with New Zealand. But Ioane's parting shot suggested that this particular chapter between him and Sexton was far from finished.
Notable Quotes
Put that in the book—a reference to Sexton's recently published autobiography— Rieko Ioane, on social media after the match
So much for the All Blacks' famous humility policy. I walk after Ioane and call him a fake humble player. It doesn't look great, but I can't be expected to ignore that.— Johnny Sexton, in his autobiography Obsessed
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does this feud between Ioane and Sexton matter so much? It's just two rugby players trading insults.
Because it's not really about them as individuals—it's about what they represent. Sexton was the face of Irish rugby, the captain, the leader. Ioane got under his skin in a moment when it counted most. Now Sexton is trying to mentor the next generation, and Ioane is still playing, still winning. The insult gets sharper when one man is retired and the other is still in the arena.
But Sexton wrote about it in his book. Doesn't that give him the final word?
You'd think so. But a book is static—it's something you publish and move on from. A social media post after a victory is live, immediate, and it reaches thousands instantly. Ioane didn't just win the match; he won the moment. He made Sexton's words feel like ancient history.
Is there any chance they reconcile, or is this permanent?
In rugby, these things have a way of simmering. They might shake hands at some tournament in two years and laugh about it. Or they might not. What matters now is that Ioane got to walk away from Friday night feeling like he'd settled something, even if it was only symbolic.
What does this say about the All Blacks' culture?
Sexton accused them of abandoning their humility, their 'no d***heads' policy. But Ioane's post-match jab suggests that's not entirely true. They're competitive, they're willing to engage in the psychological game. Whether that's a betrayal of their values or just evolution—that's what people will debate.