There is not a week that goes by without Johnny Sexton making the headlines for good, bad, concussed or indifferent.
During Ireland’s 35-25 win over Scotland, this evening, Sexton copped some flak, online and on the pitch, for exaggerating the fall-out from Alex Dunbar’s reckless torso toss to the Aviva Stadium turf.
The Scottish centre was always going to get a cautioned so Sexton may not have needed to protest before falling to the ground and clutching his head.
On the Ref Link, before Dunbar was sin-binned for 10 minutes, Scottish players could be heard accusing Sexton of ‘milking it’.
Post-match, CJ Stander told us Sexton would be one of the last players on the planet to feign injury. He said:
“Johnny always gets marked. It’s tough on a player, like that. He always gets the big tackles and knocks, after the ball has gone.
“No-one… this is rugby; you don’t milk it. If you have an injury, you lie down.
“I’ve got massive respect for Johnny. He’s a tough player that would never milk a penalty like that. It’s not something he would do.”
Scotland coach Vern Cotter had no major issues with how Sexton reacted but called on Six Nations, and World Rugby, officials to show some consistency in this area.
The Kiwi was referring to a similarly dangerous tackle on Greig Laidlaw that went unpunished in their win over Italy.
Those comments were mirrored by captain Laidlaw. The Scots, it seems, were happy to let matters lie once the final whistle went.
If only that was the case on social media.
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