Dragons and Wales number eight Ross Moriarty has said that Leinster captain Johnny Sexton is given preferential treatment by referees following his yellow card tackle on the Ireland fly-half during the Dragons 52-10 loss to the PRO14 champions earlier this month.
Moriarty was sin binned for a late tackle on Sexton just before half-time at the RDS with Leinster running in two quick tries to start the second-half and secure the four-try bonus point while the Wales international was sidelined.
Johnny Sexton flattened by Ross Moriarty in yellow card late hit
Sexton has admitted before that he can sometimes be too harsh with referees during games, and that it’s an area of his game that he is continuing to work on, but Moriarty feels that the fly-half would not have received the same punishment that he received if the roles had been reversed.
“Some may say it was harsh, some may say it was fair, but if Johnny did that against me in that game I know for a fact he would not have had anything happen to him,” Moriarty told BBC Wales Scum V programme.
“It’s nice to see little players running around making a fool of big players but when a big player gets hold of a smaller one there’s always a big scene.
“Most players will have had something happen to them if they hit Johnny Sexton off the ball because obviously, he has a big pull in the game these days which is quite sad.”
During Ireland’s summer tour of Australia Sexton seemed to think the opposite of Moriarty’s claim and he even pleaded with referee Pascal Gauzere during the third test in Sydney to talk to him despite their differences.
Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony had been taken out in the air by Wallabies utility back Israel Folau and Sexton, as vice-captain, said to Gauzere following the incident: “I know you hate me, but you have to talk to me.”
He later clarified in an interview with Peter O’Reilly in the Sunday Times that there was nothing personal between the two.
“I’d been captain at the time,” said Sexton. “I thought maybe he just doesn’t like me. But it was nothing personal. It never is.”
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