Special treatment.

Dragons flanker Ross Moriarty reckons Johnny Sexton gets ‘special treatment’ and that he was a victim of the Leinster playmaker’s ‘big-name status’ when he was controversially shown a yellow card last weekend for a late hit.

Moriarty also suggested rugby is ‘going soft’. The Wales international reckons Sexton is given more protection than others by officials.

Speaking on the BBC Wales Scum V programme, the former Gloucester man said:

“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.

“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.”

Here’s another look at the hit. Was it a yellow?