"Just accept it, mate": Former All Black Dagg's blunt advice for Johnny Sexton after Ioane incident exposed
Johnny Sexton's recent revelations from his newly published book about his exchange with Rieko Ioane after the All Blacks' famous 2023 World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland have sparked fans to life on either side of the morality fence.
After the game-sealing penalty was blown against his side in Paris to end their Cup dreams, the veteran Irish first-five revealed Ioane told him to "enjoy retirement, c***".
"So much for the All Blacks’ famous 'no dickheads' policy," Sexton continued. "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."
According to former All Black Israel Dagg, the comments were simply retaliation dating to a grudge held by the men in black since Ireland's 2022 tour of New Zealand, when Ireland flanker Peter O'Mahony allegedly told Sam Cane he was "just a shit Richie McCaw" during their 2-1 series victory.
As far as Dagg is concerned, Ioane's jibe was par for the course in professional sports, particularly given the amount of shots Ireland had fired in the opposite direction.
"Just accept it, mate," the 66-Test international said on SENZ's Scotty & Izzy. "Give it a rest.
"Ireland tend to throw a lot of chat out there because they're winning in between World Cups, but come World Cups - you just don't. You don't win it.
"Obviously the comments were pretty harsh and they probably hurt your feelings. But you were retiring.
"People don't forget when you toured New Zealand and you said some things to our very own All Blacks. They're going to bottle that up for the big occasions.
"They bottled it up nicely and you guys bottled it over there in the quarter-finals. That's just the way it goes."
Stand-in co-host Kimberlee Downs pointed out the hypocrisy involved in the accusations, given Sexton's history of inappropriate on-field chat, most notably the sideline abuse of referee Jaco Peyper during last year's European Champions Cup final that led to a three-match ban.
When challenged on the incident in relation to the All Blacks' 'no dickheads' policy Sexton had referred to, Dagg explains that stance was more centred around the team environment and didn't apply to such scenarios.
"There's a 'no dickhead' policy in the brotherhood - between each other and in the environment, in amongst their own team-mates," he noted. "It's not about you. It's not about the Irish team and not being a dickhead to them or the English team.
"We carry ourselves in a way that we don't want to sound arrogant. We want to show humility a little bit. But when you fire something, you've got to expect a return, and that's what's happened here.
"(Ioane) is standing up for Sammy Cane and Brodie Retallick. Pete O'Mahony threw out some chat. Well, you just lost the quarter-final - time to go home."
Listen to the full 'Deep Dive' below: