Rieko Ioane has lit the fuse for what should be a blockbuster clash with Ireland next month in Dublin. The All Black centre took to Instagram to respond to Johnny Sexton's claims in a recently released autobiography of words that were spoken at the conclusion of the last time the teams met, in an epic World Cup quarter final in Paris last November.
Ioane's Instagram story was a simple picture of himself and Sexton during the All Blacks' 28-24 win, with the song Zombie laid over the top. The 1994 song by Irish band The Cranberries has seen a resurgence in recent years as a stadium anthem for Irish fans, however, it seems Ioane's intention was to send a message to Sexton that the result was still 'in your head' as the song's famous lyrics suggest.
This comes after the release of Obsessed - The Autobiography of Johnny Sexton earlier this week, in which 118-cap and Irish points scoring record holder detailed the dying moments of the quarter final.
"I couldn't bring myself to watch the quarterfinal back. I don't think I ever will. I don't need to. I've mentally replayed every second, over and over," Sexton wrote.
Dejected Ireland captain Jonathan Sexton after losing the Rugby World Cup France 2023, Ireland v New Zealand All Blacks Quarter Final match at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France on Saturday 14 October 2023. Photo credit: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
"It finishes the same way every time. Rónan Kelleher still ploughs into Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock. Whitelock goes in for the poach, clearly without releasing, but somehow Wayne Barnes awards him the penalty, even though it has all happened under his nose - and it's all over.
"And as I stand there, hands on hips, staring in disbelief at Barnes, Rieko Ioane still comes up to me and tells me, "Get back 10 metres.
"Huh?"
"Penalty," he says. "Back 10." 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."
Reiko Ioane scores against the Wallabies. Photo: Steven Markham/ActionPress
Ioane's post comes after days of heated debate on social media around the exchange, with All Black fans unsurprisingly backing him and reminding Irish fans of Peter O'Mahoney calling Sam Cane a "shit Richie McCaw" during the third test of their tour to New Zealand in 2022.
Ireland won that series 2-1, the first time they had ever won a test in New Zealand and the first time the All Blacks had dropped a series at home since 1994. Feelings between the two sides have often been bitter ever since Ireland's breakthrough victory in Chicago in 2016, their first over the All Blacks in 111 years of trying.
Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries. Photo: Nicky J. Sims/Getty Images
Zombie has also been appropriated by Springbok fans lately, in their series with Ireland earlier this season crowds at Loftus Versfeld and Kings Park replacing the main lyric with 'Rassie' as a tribute to two-time World Cup winning coach Rassie Erasmus. This was not popular with Irish fans, given the song's subject matter deals with The Troubles, a bloody period in Irish history in which Republican and Unionist paramilitaries waged a campaign of bombings and violence that claimed the lives of over 3,500 people.
The All Blacks and Ireland meet at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 9 November NZT.