Players are reluctant to use the media as an agony aunt when it comes to acts of skulduggery, preferring the omerta of the playing field. But fingers were pointed by both French and Irish players last Saturday and, on the part of the former, it appears, on occasion, to have been en route to the eyes of their opponents.

One commentator, with access to the microphone of Australian referee Peter Marshall, confirmed that both Peter Clohessy and Paul Wallace frequently drew the official's attention to eye-gouging during the match, calling upon him to intervene.

To little avail. Ireland's Lions hooker Keith Wood confirmed: "There certainly was gouging.

"I couldn't speak for either Peter or Paul but I was gouged on a couple of occasions. I don't mind the raking or the knocks - it's part and parcel of the game - but the gouging can be very scary."

An easy target because of the aggressive physicality that is the hallmark of his game, Wood found himself singled out for special attention, on one occasion in an incident that went ludicrously unpunished. Everyone present at the match and millions watching on television saw French flanker Philippe Benetton punch Wood while he was lying on the ground. Everyone, that is, but the referee.

But for Wood that was less sinister than an incident which took place immediately after the French try. "I was lying on the ground about 20 seconds after the French had scored a try and someone stamped down on the back of my head. I could not see who it was." He required three stitches.

Wallace was another to be struck with a punch while on the ground and he described the match thus: "It's as tough as I have ever seen. At times it was law of the jungle stuff.

"There was a lot of off the ball stuff. We tried to concentrate on the game but that was far from easy at times." Wood was more philosophical: "It's not something that a referee can spot so that's a big problem. You just have to play through it at times."