The citing commissioner today examined the footage of Mike Brown aiming his boot somewhere in the general vicinity of Conor Murray's head last Saturday evening and decided not to pursue the matter.
The decision has found favour with English fans who bluntly argued that Murray shouldn't have been holding on to the ball and what Brown did was within the laws of the game.
Irish supporters have been inclined to stress Brown's recklessness. Joe Schmidt admitted that his backroom team were initially fearful that Murray's eye might be seriously damaged.
In a sense, Mike Ruddock - former Leinster coach and Grand Slam winning coach of Wales in 2005 - agrees with both viewpoints. However, he says that the law needs to be tightened up before serious damage befalls someone.
Someone could lose an eye unless something is done, he told Andy Howell in the Western Mail/Wales Online.
As the law stands, Brown didn't do anything wrong but what is happening more and more under the guise of a rucking contest is that players are entering them illegally from the side, as I contend he did, and swinging at the ball with the outside of a foot.
What concerns me is that often there is a player over the ball, as there was in this case, and the rucker is unable to see where their foot is going as they swing in the direction of where they believe it is.
I feel this type of thing should be looked at by union chiefs and outlawed...
The way the game is going with players kicking out for the ball at the breakdown I fear it won't be long before a player loses an eye in a test match.
The debate between English and Irish pundits has typically followed the pattern seen between Keith Wood and Jeremy Guscott on the BBC yesterday.
Jeremy Guscott reckons Mike Brown got the ball. Keith Wood, however... #sixnations #EngvIre #bbcsixnations https://t.co/4fmHLWN36u
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 28, 2016
