Johnny Sexton provided RTE Late Late Show viewers with a heartwarming moment as he surprised a young fan on Friday night.
Rugby-mad Liam appeared on the show as part of a book club and praised a book about the history of rugby.
Patrick Kielty asked the youngster to practice his passing with a cardboard cutout of Sexton before the Ireland rugby legend himself appeared.
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Sexton gifted the stunned youngster a pair of boots and offered him some words of advice while also giving an update on how life has been since retiring, saying it has been "okay", but adding that it has been "a big change".
The legendary number ten also told how it took him seven years to write his autobiography as he thought he was going to retire after the 2019 Rugby World Cup but ended up playing on for four more years.
Viewers loved the moment between Sexton and Liam, with one writing on social media: "Johnny Sexton brings to the #toyshow the hugely important and necessary message that it's hard to transition from high performance international sport to retirement. Never too early for kids to learn this."
Another commented: "Johnny Sexton being nervy on TV shows the power of the and how well the kids actually handle the occasion."
Someone else said: "This kid is losing it seeing Johnny Sexton. That's what it's all about."
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