All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick has revealed the truth behind an exchange of words between him and Ireland veteran Peter O’Mahony during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Recent battles between New Zealand and Ireland have been heated affairs, with players trading sledges during the three-Test match series in 2022 and doing so again during the World Cup.
was at the centre of the war on words in 2022, and he was spotted on camera telling captain Sam Cane that he was ‘just a s**t Richie McCaw’.
And when New Zealand defeated Ireland in the quarter-finals of the , the All Blacks players were quick to get their revenge.
Rieko Ioane and Retallick were at the centre of it all, with , his comment enraging the skipper.
“Ioane, in a classless gesture, put his finger to his lips while looking at the Irish crowd, and then felt compelled to bid farewell to Sexton,” Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley wrote at the time.
Meanwhile, Retallick reportedly chirped O’Mahony, saying: “Oi, Peter! Four more years, you ****wit.”
In a recent podcast appearance, Retallick confirmed that he did, in fact, utter those words to the Ireland flanker.
“I said what was reported,” Retallick told James Marshall on the What a Lad podcast.
And the lock confirmed that O’Mahony – who has been named as the new Ireland captain for the Six Nations – had no reply this time around.
“When they beat us in Wellington in that series, he was just into us on the field, spraying us left, right, and centre,” he added.
“I enjoy it. When you are having your day, you let them know it, but I’m definitely going to give it back when we’re having our day, and what better moment than that one right there, that’s for sure.”
Retallick’s takedown of O’Mahony was similar to former Australia skipper George Gregan’s “four more years” sledge during the latter stages of the Wallabies’ 22-10 victory over the All Blacks in their 2003 World Cup semi-final.
New Zealand defeated Ireland 28-24 in the quarter-final, with Retallick’s long-time lock partner Sam Whitelock winning a penalty in the final play of the game to secure their place in the semi-finals.
They went on to hammer Argentina 44-6 in the semi-finals, but much like Gregan’s side in 2003, the All Blacks would go on to lose the final, falling to an 12-11 defeat at the hands of South Africa in the final.
