Sexton v Ioane is the tip of the iceberg – Ireland-New Zealand is a proper rivalry

“Get back 10 metres”.

As a sledge, it may not become quite as memorable as another World Cup put-down from 20 years earlier, when George Gregan peered over a ruck to taunt the All Blacks by snarling “four more years, boys!”

But the exchange between Rieko Ioane and Johnny Sexton at the end of a blockbuster quarter-final between Ireland and New Zealand last year, on the back of a breakdown penalty earned by Sam Whitelock, has been immortalised in the latter’s autobiography. It has served to amplify what is a compellingly tetchy rivalry. Ioane has kept the flame lit with his own social media jibe aimed at Sexton in October.

The tension between Ireland and the All Blacks has several contributory factors. The influence that New Zealanders have had on Ireland will be one of those. Joe Schmidt was a groundbreaking head coach and Bundee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park and James Lowe have all become integral components of the green machine after moving over and qualifying on residency. Irish progress, though, is the chief ingredient.

Devin Toner, the former lock, cites 2013 and a “devastating” defeat in Dublin as a starting point. Ireland had come agonisingly close in Christchurch around 18 months previously, losing after a wobbly drop-goal from Dan Carter in the 80th minute, but this one was gut-wrenching.

With the hosts 22-7 ahead at the Aviva Stadium, Toner conceded a penalty for stumbling across the path of Wyatt Crockett as Ireland aimed to clear from their own try-line. Aaron Cruden kicked it and the All Blacks would eventually overhaul their opponents. Ryan Crotty’s winning try remains among the most dramatic sequences one could hope to see, yet the setback also offered encouragement to Ireland.

‘He made us believe we could beat anyone’

Schmidt used the game as an exhibition of how apparently insignificant moments, such as Kieran Read chasing down Rob Kearney to make a conversion more difficult, must be respected.

“Joe highlighted a passage of play that lasted for around four and a half minutes and he brought that into training sessions,” Toner explains. “We’d do a really intense, four-and-a-half-minute drill during the week to recreate it. He’d say: ‘If we can last that, we can do it again’.

“He was more about details. They were drilled into us: our body heights, our knowledge, the line-out plays. Psychologically, he was very good at getting across that New Zealand were 15 guys as well, and they bled the same blood we did, that they weren’t special. He made us believe that, on our day, we could beat anyone.”

Toner started again at Soldier Field in Chicago three years later, when a drought that had lasted 111 years and 28 Test matches was finally broken. Robbie Henshaw’s short-range finish following a switch with Jamie Heaslip sealed a 40-29 victory.

“I was in charge of line-outs and they went well,” Toner says. “But every single one, it felt like they were inches away from stealing. I remember letting Scott Barrett in for a try.

“I’d given away that stupid penalty in 2013 and then Scott Barrett got this outside pop and got outside me. I was thinking: ‘Oh no… it’s happening again. I can’t believe it. The relief of Robbie scoring was huge because we knew we were winning the game.”

‘We’d go close against the All Blacks and then get hammered next week’

Just a fortnight later, the sides reconvened on Irish soil with the All Blacks intent on revenge. During a frankly brutal encounter, Henshaw was knocked out after a head clash with Sam Cane and Malakai Fekitoa levelled Simon Zebo in a high challenge that brought about a one-week ban. Both would probably have yielded 20-minute reds today.

New Zealand decorated a 21-9 win with three slick tries. Beauden Barrett was whacked around the chops by Sexton as the former dived in to score and Fekitoa capitalised on a beautiful flurry of passes. Ireland were brought at least some of the way back to earth before beating the All Blacks again, courtesy of a trademark strike move devised by Schmidt and finished by Jacob Stockdale, in 2018.

The following year, a play was staged to mark the events of Chicago with an accent on the tragic death of Anthony Foley just two weeks earlier. You may remember at Soldier Field the Ireland players standing in a figure 8 on the field, in honour of the former Munster and Ireland hero.

Pat McCarry wrote Soldier Field, which enjoyed another successful run this October, in mind of the rugby relationship between Ireland and New Zealand.

“Beating the All Blacks was this thing that was never done and became a pet subject of mine,” says the sportswriter. “I’d watch games with my dad growing up and it always seemed like they’d go close against New Zealand and get hammered the next week.

“In 2016 I had to argue with my editor to even go to Chicago. My point was: ‘What if Ireland beat them and we’re not there?’ It was organised for me to go and then I was asked if I thought they could win: ‘No, no… they probably won’t.’”

McCarry lived in New Zealand for a year and will always remember John Hayes, the Ireland prop, receiving a player rating of 3/10 accompanied by the epithet: “Two words: Cart. Horse.” Among Kiwis, the reaction to his play was bemusement.

“They find it hilarious that there’s a play about them being beaten, and found it even funnier when they hammered Ireland in the 2019 World Cup,” McCarry laughs. “I don’t think they appreciated that it had been 111 years and 28 Test matches of going up against the Big, Bad Wolf.”

Ireland fans used to ‘having their heads patted’

Ireland have now been shunted to the exit by the All Blacks at successive World Cups. Gallingly, the 2023 departure was partly engineered by Schmidt, by then an assistant coach with New Zealand. His fingertips were all over the line-out strike from which Richie Mo’unga burst clear and released Will Jordan.

Between those tournaments, Ireland stayed on top. At home in 2021, they won an all-action affair 29-20. Just prior to half-time, Codie Taylor and Dalton Papali’i sank to their haunches in exhaustion. Clocking themselves on the big screen, they quickly rose to maintain a veneer of readiness. After Sexton addressed referee Luke Pearce in the same game, Dane Coles had some choice words about the Ireland captain: “F---, he’s a mouthy c--- isn’t he?”

The 2022 tour to New Zealand comprised three captivating contests. Ireland were thrashed in the first before surging back for a stirring series triumph. Another sledge surfaced as well, Peter O’Mahony allegedly labelling Cane as a “s--- Richie McCaw” in Wellington.

Cane has never denied the exchange, and was asked about it again in the wake of the 2023 quarter-final in Paris after he had produced a phenomenal individual display. “No motivation from that,” he said. “Look, we know they’ve got a few players who try to get under your skin with tactics like that, but we went into the game consciously focused on sticking to our jobs and worrying about executing our stuff. We didn’t buy into it, I suppose.”

For the rest of us, especially in an era where television match officials have just about eradicated self-policing, buying into the needle is part of the fun. “It used to feel like Ireland supporters were getting their heads patted all the time: ‘Keep trying, keep trying,’” says McCarry. “That’s completely flipped. Ireland going over to New Zealand and beating them means there’s a bit of bite between the teams now.

“It shows that Ireland have been under their skin and, in a weird way, mean something to them. I know they haven’t done it in a World Cup yet. There was a quiet confidence before the last quarter-final and then, when Ireland lost, it felt like you’d been taking crazy pills: ‘Did we really think we’d beat the All Blacks?’ But there’s a bit of spice there.”

Friday night is the first chance for Ireland to avenge the loss that allowed Ioane to deliver his special send-off to Sexton. Time is a healer and, with Scott Robertson in charge, New Zealand have begun a new era. Caelan Doris has succeeded Sexton as Ireland skipper as well.

That said, even if official press appearances are likely to downplay any ill feeling, and even if the players are right to focus on technical details and tactical responsibilities, lingering resentment is inevitable and will heighten the stakes. Ioane will be among many familiar protagonists.

We should be grateful. For the viewer, bitter is usually better.