Ex-Ireland star Johnny Sexton insists that Rieko Ioane has a “big responsibility” when he joins up with the team on a six-month deal.
Like Jordie Barrett before him, the New Zealand international decided to take his sabbatical with the Irish province and will remain in Dublin for the rest of the 2025/26 northern hemisphere season.
It was certainly a controversial move considering his rather strained relationship with Ireland and one of their favourite sons, Leinster legend Sexton.
How the feud started
That all kicked off following the Rugby World Cup quarter-final between the countries, which the All Blacks won 28-24.
Ioane made a comments towards the retiring playmaker after the game, prompting Sexton to clap back before the former fly-half detailed his side of the story in his autobiography almost a year later.
That escalated the feud with the New Zealander doubling down, leading to some boos when the All Blacks took on the Irish at the Aviva Stadium later in 2024.
Since the deal was announced Sexton has not said too much, but he did comment on what is expected of the centre.
The 40-year-old said that all his predecessors have been “good people”, a rather pointed statement which acts as a warning to Ioane.
“One of the biggest influences on Leinster has been foreign players, getting the right people in, and the right players, but first and foremost, good people,” he told reporters.
“When you consider the people that we’ve had over the years like Isa Nacewa… I can only speak about me, but the impact he had on me personally… Brad Thorn. The impact they’ve had on the environment and the values and all those type of things [has been] massive.
“From what I hear, Jordie Barrett the exact same. Yeah, it’s a big responsibility he’s got, and he’s got to follow some pretty special people and characters before him. But look, I’ve nothing to do with Leinster anymore, really. It’s nothing to do with me.”
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Ireland’s November campaign
Sexton has moved into coaching since his retirement but not with Leinster having taken a role with the Ireland men’s set-up and its various age-grade sides.
He was therefore part of their end-of-year campaign which saw Andy Farrell’s men win just two of their four matches – against Japan and the Wallabies.
They fell to defeats in their biggest games against the All Blacks and Springboks, continuing their decline since the 2023 World Cup.
Farrell is still relying on his older players but Sexton insists that they have also lost a lot of experience over the past couple of seasons.
“We’re trying to develop our game but we’ve lost probably 600 caps worth of experience out of the building, in the space of two years,” he added.
“In terms of what’s been asked of players, it’s different to what it was before because now they have to be the leaders.”
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