Kevin McLaughlin was subjected to trial by New Zealand rugby media – this is his story

Ireland lost an emotional Test as rugby returned to Christchurch in 2012, but the mood soured somewhat in the days after the 22-19 defeat.

It took a late Dan Carter drop goal to seal the win for the All Blacks as a doughty Irish side upped their performance considerably after a poor opening Test in Auckland. Ireland led 10-0 at one stage thanks to a try from Conor Murray but the home side, playing in front of 21,000 passionate fans in their shaken city, fought back as they almost always do. One Irish player would find himself at the centre of an unwelcome media storm in the days after the game. Flanker Kevin McLaughlin was accused of eye-gouging by New Zealand TV sports presenter Murray Deaker. This was no common or garden variety of eye-gouging either - the Leinster man stood accused of gouging the eyes of All Blacks captain and deity Richie McCaw. Now retired, McLaughlin was on Thursday's edition of The Hard Yards, and his tale [from 49 minutes onwards] is a cautionary one for all Lions touring the Land of the Long White Cloud this summer. "I thought the guillotine was going to come out at one stage," said McLaughlin. "He is a bit of a god down there. I had not thought anything of the incident. "My hand did go near his face, but I was just trying to rip him out of a maul," continued McLaughlin. "There was nothing... I don't think he cared about it to be honest." Despite not being cited for the incident, McLaughlin could not escape the footage as he became the defendant in a relentless trial by media.

"Everywhere I looked on TV there was this slow-mo of me with my hand in around his eye area and people were calling for my head. "But there was nothing internally about it, a couple of laughs about it and that, but it was a bit uncomfortable, feeling like the entire nation is coming after you over something.

"It signifies the passion that follows the game around there. These guys are heroes and they are heroes because they do it every week, because they all stand up and they are very brave in the way they play." What did McCaw have to say about the whole affair? "There was nothing from him, he is as tough as they come. He didn't think anything of it, that is what is important." As big a deal as the Lions Tour will be up here, it will pale in comparison to the media attention that will follow the three-Test series in New Zealand, where rugby really is king. That focus is great for the game but, as McLaughlin will tell you, there is a flip side.