Brian O’Driscoll has said the manner in which Tadhg Beirne won a penalty for Munster in the Champions Cup quarter-final is “not a good look” for rugby.
Munster secured a semi-final spot after a hard-fought victory over Edinburgh but it was not without controversy.
When Munster conceded a penalty late on, the decision got reversed after the TMO found Edinburgh loose-head Pierre Schoeman guilty of hitting Beirne off the ball.
Munster scored a try minutes later but Beirne has been criticised in some corners for going down too easily.
One of those critical voices was from former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, who was speaking on Off The Ball.
“If he’s your teammate you go ‘thanks for milking us the penalty’ and if you’re looking from outside you go ‘come on, get up’,” said the Leinster legend.
“In the words of Nigel Owens, this isn’t soccer, lads.
“I’ve seen some stuff on social media and people not happy with the manner in which he threw himself to the ground.
“There was no doubt, he gets impacted. But it’s a big sell. The dramatics of the fall definitely is what caught the TMO’s eye. “
O’Driscoll added: “Ultimately, it is a penalty. But I don’t think you have to sell it that way. It’s not a good look for our game.”
Meanwhile, former Ireland and Leinster winger Shane Horgan admitted that while he didn’t like what Beirne did, he felt Schoeman should take the blame.
“I think I’d be pointing to Schoeman,” Horgan said, speaking on the Second Captains podcast.
“It’s a huge risk. That’s the game. That’s possibly the game there. That decision to just drop your shoulder in for no real reason.”
Horgan said it was “a silly little shoulder” and Edinburgh could have won the game was it not for what Schoeman did.”
The former winger added that he did feel for Schoeman as “sometimes on the pitch in emotional situations, you do crazy things.”