MUNSTER Supporters Club “posted” a response to Johnny Sexton after he joked about becoming a Reds season ticket holder.
The 39-year-old cracked the gag in response to being asked about how he felt about his World Cup nemesis being Leinster-bound.
The 2025 British and Irish Lions tour will begin on Friday at the Aviva Stadium[/caption]
Sexton has quipped about becoming a regular at Thomond Park[/caption]
Speaking at his first appearance as a member of Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions coaching staff, Sexton played down the seriousness of his former club snapping up Rieko Ioane on a short-term deal.
When asked on Monday about the Kiwi’s impending arrival, he replied: “I purchased my Munster season ticket last week, put it that way.”
Now, the good folk at the province’s official club fan club have responded by taking Sexton up on his remark.
They shared a mock-up of a season ticket pass with his name on it.
The amusing social media post was captioned: “Great to hear from official Lions Rugby that we have a new member for next season. Your card is in the post Johnny. SUAF.”
In his autobiography, Sexton lifted the lid on the row between the pair after Ireland had lost to New Zealand in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
He wrote that, after referee Wayne Barnes blew the final whistle, Ioane said to him ‘Don’t miss your flight tomorrow. Enjoy your retirement you c***’.
Sexton responded by calling him ‘a fake-humble f*****’.
Auckland native Ioane reignited the row after the All Blacks beat Ireland last November with an Instagram post with the caption ‘Put that in the book’.
And Ioane admitted that he might have to win over a few people when he lands in Dublin later this summer.
He said: “By all my friends’ accounts, it’s about 50-50 at the moment. We’ll try to get that to 60-40 in my favour.”
At that same press briefing, the longtime Irish 10 offered some blunt words of advice to the two young men now fighting for the national jersey.
Sexton knows a thing or two about the level of scrutiny which comes from the territory, from his tussle with Ronan O’Gara in the early part of his career.
The attention on Sam Prendergast, 22, and 25-year-old Jack Crowley – neither of whom made the Lions squad – has been amplified in the digital age.
SOCIAL SEWER
The Rathgar man emphasized: “They’re just so young. You’ve got to give them a chance to learn and experience these things, but the level that they are producing already in their careers is amazing really.
“They’re so far ahead of where I was and they’ve got the world at their feet with the work ethic that they have.
“They’re humble guys, they do want to learn, they want to practise hard and that’s the thing that you look at the most as a coach.
“One thing I disagree with is some of the narrative around it in terms of there’s obviously a split in the country in terms of Munster-Leinster and I’ve been there before.
“I’ve been in that situation and with social media getting bigger and bigger it’s tough on them at times and it shouldn’t be like that.
“We should be supporting whoever’s picked and getting fully behind them. I told them to delete social media.”
