Nothing wrong with it.

Former Ireland and Leinster centre Brian O’Driscoll believes there was nothing wrong with how Johnny Sexton ‘treated’ former teammate Joey Carbery during last weekend’s inter-provincial derby.

Sexton came under fire for two incidents with the Munster outhalf in the game, which left a bit of a sour taste in people’s mouths. Sexton got a little physical with Carbery following an off the ball tussle, and had an altercation with him on the ground during the game that left Carbery in some pain.

But O’Driscoll says there’s nothing wrong with it – and says he’s done similar himself in the past to an up and coming Irish star in his position.

That reaction at the scuffle on the Murray high tackle where he pulled him out of a ruck and Joey was third man in and it’s ‘master and apprentice’ and he’s setting down a marker – I’ve no problem with that.

“People were appalled by Johnny’s behaviour in that incident – I think there’s no harm in letting the incumbent know that you’re not going to be easily displaced.” O’Driscoll said on Off The Ball

“I remember doing it with Robbie Henshaw towards the end of my career when he was playing with Connacht, just to test him to see if he had some bottle – if he has the nastiness in him – and sure enough, he did. I was massively impressed by that and sometimes you just want to test these people out and see if they have the mental resolve or not.”

“And, I think there might have been a bit of that in Johnny’s reaction with Carbery too,” he added.