‘Great player but terrible human’: Fans react to latest Sexton meltdown
Ireland’s 28-24 loss to the All Blacks on Saturday in the World Cup quarter-final brought to an end the career of captain Johnny Sexton- and he ended his career in fitting style.
The fly-half had a decent game and a great tournament, but it is not what he did in the match that is being talked about, rather what happened after the final whistle had blown. Coverage showed the 38-year-old aggressively shouting at the All Blacks’ Rieko Ioane as the two teams shook hands, which has proven to be quite controversial online.
There are rumours that the All Black was antagonising the Irish crowd and that he refused to shake Sexton’s hand, and while that may be true, it is not like Sexton doesn’t have a history of this kind of behaviour. In fact, he actually missed the World Cup warm-ups due to a ban after confronting Jaco Peyper after Leinster’s Champions Cup final loss earlier this year.
In light of his past behaviour, fans have not pulled any punches on X in the aftermath of the match.
Here is the incident and some comments online:
— Michael Cuthbert Photography (@mikecuthbertuk) October 14, 2023
“He’s a disgrace to the sport. Thank god he’s retired. Great player but terrible human being. Rugby will be far better off without him.”
“Obviously he’s upset but just unclassy behaviour, not what you want to see at the end of such a magnificent match.”
“Has always been classless.”
“I don’t think he or Porter won any friends tonight. Despite the hurt, need to learn from the AB’s and lose graciously. Irish have been fantastic the last two years but came up short against a team who tackled for the lives.”
“The guy banned for swearing at an official swearing at a player. Sums it up really.”
“Never beaten always cheated. Delighted he’s heading home.”
“Sexton’s a great player, but to have the attitude he’s displaying right now smacks of it being more about his loss than Ireland’s, and that’s not right.”
“Really poor captaincy! Have just watched him standing shaking his head instead of consoling his team. Really poor.”
