Johnny Sexton’s wife Laura celebrated her 40th birthday with a host of fellow rugby WAGs over the weekend.
The celebratory dinner took place on Saturday night, after Ireland won against France in their first Six Nations game of the season.
Laura was joined by her husband Johnny, who retired from professional rugby last year, and a slew of his former teammates and their other halves.
Peter O’Mahony’s wife Jessica shared a series of snaps from the night on Instagram, which also featured Tadhg Beirne’s partner Harriet, and Conor Murray’s wife Joanna Cooper.
Peter, Tadhg, and Conor also made an appearance, as well as Keith Earls, Gary Ringrose, and Cian Healy.
Jessica captioned the post: “Gorgeous dinner for Laura 🥰 #theoldies 🤣.”
Laura and Johnny have been together since they were teenagers, and hosted their wedding at Adare Manor back in 2013.
The couple share three children together – Luca, 8, Amy, 6, and Sophie, 4.
Johnny bid an emotional farewell to the Irish rugby team in October, following their Rugby World Cup defeat.
The Irish team faced New Zealand in the quarter final of the tournament at the Stade de France in Paris.
The nail-biting game ended with the All Blacks winning by 4 points, meaning Ireland narrowly missed out on a place in the semi-final.
It was an emotional night for many reasons, as the game also marked the end of captain Johnny Sexton’s professional rugby career.
The rugby player later took to Instagram to share an emotional statement about his retirement.
He wrote: “Retirement is never an easy next step for any professional athlete. It is especially hard after the rollercoaster of emotions from the last few weeks in France.
“The sadness and frustration we couldn’t progress further remain, they will for a long time to come but the overarching feeling is the pride I felt playing with such a committed and talented group of players.”
“The best group I have been lucky enough to be a part of……on and off the pitch. Leaving these players and these coaches is what is making retirement so tough,” he continued.
“I’ve said it many times before but there’s no feeling like playing in front of a home Irish crowd and that’s what it felt like in Bordeaux, Nantes and in Paris on those three special Saturdays.
“I want to thank my teammates, both for Leinster and Ireland, for everything they have given to me. The last season was one of the most enjoyable of my career and it makes it even more special to do so with people you care about, friends who will stay a part of my life in the future.
“To all the teachers, coaches, support staff and all those who encouraged and supported my career starting out in Bective, St. Mary’s College, club and school, for over 30 years, thank you for everything.”
“To the supporters of Leinster, Racing, the British & Irish Lions and Ireland – with whom I was proud to share my journey – thank you for your faith and unwavering support.
“To my family, my parents, brothers and sister who nurtured my love of the game and instilled my drive, I couldn’t have made this journey without you.
Johnny concluded his post by writing: “Finally to my wife Laura and our children, your unconditional love helped inspire me through the ups and downs of life and I am incredibly excited about our next chapter together. By far my proudest moments were getting to play with my kids watching on.”
“4 years ago we sat down as a squad and spoke about what we wanted to achieve. Our main motivation and objective was to inspire the nation. I think we achieved that. We lost, but we won. 💚 ☘️.”
Following Ireland’s Rugby World Cup defeat last year, a sweet moment between Johnny and his son Luca was caught on camera.
While walking off the pitch, Luca was seen telling his father: “You’re still the best dad.”
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After the game, a tearful Johnny told reporters: “How can you be prouder to be Irish when you see what’s happened over the last six weeks really? We get behind the team like no other, it’s incredible and it’s not wasted on us.”
“That’s why it is so hard to take really, that we didn’t give them another couple of weekends. But, as [head coach Andy Farrell] said, it’s small margins. That’s sport; that’s life.”
“This group will bounce back. They’re an incredible group, led by the man beside me. The best group I have ever been a part of, bar none. These guys they will go on and achieve great things, and I’ll be sitting in the stand, having a pint like you lads.”
