As in life, there are seven deadly sins in rugby: gouging, biting, head-kicking, bagsnatching (an Australian euphemism for an assault on a player's unmentionables), spear-tackling, shaving on match day and running off with the beer kitty.

Of these, the last two are marginally the least heinous, while the first is very definitely furthest beyond the pale. Unfortunately for the image of the union game, this is fast becoming the age of the gouger.

Only a blind man, so to speak, can have failed to recognise the sharp increase in attacks on or around the eyes in recent seasons. In the British Isles alone, there have been three high-profile cases, involving Dylan Hartley, the promising young Northampton hooker banned for six months in 2007; Neil Best, also of Northampton, who was suspended for 18 weeks at the start of last season; and Alan Quinlan, the Munster flanker, who would have played on this tour but for a 12-week punishment imposed following the Heineken Cup semi-final with Leinster. Television footage showed Quinlan running his fingers across the eyes of Leo Cullen.

In addition, the Romanian hooker Marius Tincu was at the centre of a incident in October when, after playing for the French club Perpignan in a Heineken Cup pool match against Ospreys, he was suspended for 18 weeks after being found guilty of going for the eyes of the prop Paul James. Perpignan claimed there was no independent evidence, firm or otherwise, against their player and threatened to bring a civil action under European law. The Catalans ignored the suspension and played Tincu at domestic level. The row continued for the rest of the campaign.

Last Saturday, both the South African flanker Schalk Burger and the Italian No 8 Sergio Parisse, two of the best players in the world, were caught indulging while on international duty.

Every time union officials try to make a distinction between gouging and “an act contrary to good sportsmanship by making contact with the face in the eye area”, they do the sport a disservice. These people should tell it like it is and act accordingly.