Ireland star 'split open' close friend in 2011 training ground bust-up

Johnny Sexton has revealed details of a training ground bust-up with Ireland and Leinster teammate Leo Cullen during the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Sexton has written about the drama in his new book – Obsessed: The Autobiography of Johnny Sexton. Extracts from the book have been published in this weekend’s Sunday Times.

Frustrated by losing the No.10 jersey to then-bitter rival Ronan O’Gara, Sexton admitted his anger boiled over in a session in Dunedin before Ireland’s match against Italy.

"The low point came in Dunedin, a few days before we played Italy. The team hadn’t been announced but I’d already figured that I was on the bench. That was when my frustrations boiled over. Leo [Cullen] got the brunt of it."

Cullen grabbed Sexton during a ruck, prompting an aggressive response from the hot-headed fly-half.

"I was in the bibs when it all flared up, and he was in the first team. He grabbed me at a ruck and I slapped his arm away aggressively. It happened again and I swung again. He slapped me in the face and that’s when the red mist descended. I grabbed him by the collar and started swinging like mad. People tried to drag me back but I lost the rag altogether. I split him open, just above the eye.

Dejeceted flyhalf Jonathan Sexton of Ireland walks off the pitch following his team's 22-10 defeat during quarter final one of the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup between Ireland v Wales at Wellington Regional Stadium on October 8, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

"I’m sure I took him by surprise. We were very close, after all. He was my club captain and I had massive respect for him. I’m sure it took everyone by surprise. Not my finest hour.

"On top of all that, I had to go and practise my bloody place-kicking afterwards and it was a daft-looking drill that Dave had suggested, one that probably made people wonder if I’d lost my marbles altogether. Basically you tee up under the posts, fifteen metres out, aiming to drill the ball against the crossbar or under the crossbar as hard as possible. It’s actually a great drill, designed to improve your foot position and point of contact on the ball. But I’m sure people were looking at me thinking: look at your man. He’s blown a fuse and now he can’t even get a kick from in front of the posts.

"This might sound funny now, but no one was laughing at the time. Normally after a training-ground scrap, you have a kiss-and-make-up session in front of everyone the following day and the slagging is relentless. There was none of that. It was never mentioned. Well, not in front of me. It was bad. I apologized to Leo, and of course he was good about it. I still felt shit."

Obsessed, The Autobiography by Johnny Sexton is published by Penguin, Sandycove on the 10th Oct at £20/€25. Available to pre-order now