Writing in the Herald on Sunday, Gregor Paul insists the game in New Zealand has cleaned up in the professional age but that is not the case for the rest of the world.
"The act of choice is eye-gouging which has been frighteningly common in 2009. seems to be happening almost every week - the latest being a nasty double attack by Julien Dupuy and David Atoub of Stade Francais on Ulster's Stephen Ferris. The video evidence was damning.
"As it was when Schalk Burger gouged Luke Fitzgerald in the opening minute of the second test between the British Lions and Springboks in June. As it was when Italian No 8 Sergio Parisse gouged Isaac Ross a few hours before Burger's indiscretion.
"If Alan Quinlan had been on tour with the Lions, then the tourists might have taken their revenge on Burger. But the Irish flanker didn't make the trip after being selected because he gouged Leinster's Leo Cullen in the Heineken Cup. Rotorua-born Dylan Hartley missed much of the season after being found guilty of eye-gouging while playing for Northampton and one naughty Frenchman can count himself lucky that there was no supporting video footage to support All Black claims Tony Woodcock was "facialled" in Marseilles."
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