Mariano Galarza's World Cup is over - he's been suspended for nine weeks. Photo / AFP
Mariano Galarza's World Cup is over - he's been suspended for nine weeks. Photo / AFP
Argentina had been moving away from their tarnished reputation, until Monday.
A finger in the eye is never an accident. Mariano Galarza got what he deserved - a nine-week ban that will put him out of the Rugby World Cup.
Argentina were fantastic against the All Blacks at Wembley in their pool match on Monday. He wasn't. Well, he was, right up until the point it turned out he stuck his fingers in Brodie Retallick's eye.
A hand never accidentally strays towards the face. Players don't suddenly realise they are rummaging around in another's eye socket and it's all a big misunderstanding.
The video evidence is conclusive and Retallick's testimony apparently helped the citing commissioner come to his decision. Nine weeks is about right for that nonsense.
Eye-gouging is vile. It's dangerous beyond belief and anyone who indulges in a bit of it should seriously think about why they are playing the game.
We don't know yet whether the All Blacks alerted citing commissioner Murray Whyte to the incident or whether he picked it up at the time - Retallick reacted angrily at a maul where he was grappling with Galarza.
Retallick, who is being rested for this morning's clash against Namibia, didn't say anything after the game but he'll no doubt be satisfied justice has been served.
Just as disappointing in this whole unsavoury affair is the damage it has done to Argentina's reputation.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s they were renowned for being filthy. The Pumas were rated the worst by their peers for crass, cheap shots such as eye-gouging and "bag-snatching".
When they played Ireland at the 2003 Rugby World Cup it was carnage - really nasty stuff for 80 minutes - that caused bad blood between the two teams for the next decade.
It has been a long, hard slog for the Pumas to rebuild their image. They haven't been perfect in the Rugby Championship since they joined in 2012 but they have been mostly clean. Tough but clean, with the odd exception.
Now this. Why? What was the point in it and what did Galarza think he'd achieve?
It has left the Pumas looking for a new lock but, more importantly, it has left them having to start again in their mission to persuade the world they aren't a bit cheap and nasty.
They could be the dark horse at this tournament - a potential semifinalist or finalist - but they aren't likely to be a popular dark horse if they do any more eye-gouging.
Going underground
Dan Carter tweeted a picture of himself and fellow All Blacks Julian Savea, Jerome Kaino, Kieran read and Sonny Bill Williams on the London Tube train.
Rugby fans on London's Underground would have been pleasantly surprised to find All Blacks aboard. Dan Carter (centre) yesterday tweeted a photo of himself in a carriage with (from left) Julian Savea, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Sonny Bill Williams.
"Better than sitting in traffic," Carter wrote. Savea and Williams are in the starting lineup to play Namibia this morning, and Read is in the reserves.
