The Welsh are angry at Neil Francis after he suggested Warren Gatland's brainpower was roughly equivalent to a tub of cheap butter.
Franno v the Welsh is a long running feud. Francis expressed his irritation with the Welsh in an RTE promo in the lead-up to Ireland's 29-23 victory over Wales in Wembley in 1999.
However, the video referenced an incident, which the Welsh claim, has fuelled Francis' dislike ever since.
It was Ireland v Wales in the Five Nations opener in 1992. Francis, having been a stand-out Irish player at the 1991 World Cup, was up against English-born Welsh international Tony Copsey in the second row battle.
@KipperBedwas @simonrug Have to agree boys what a load of cra#. Another slap might help!
— Tony Copsey (@TonyCopsey5) March 12, 2015
Francis - the Dimitar Berbatov of Irish forward play in the early 1990s, with everything positive and negative that entails - was clearly the more technically gifted of the two and was getting the better of Copsey in the lineouts early on.
Copsey decided on a novel solution to the problem. He'd knock Neil Francis out.
It should have been an automatic sending off, but the referee Fred Howard told Copsey:
There are only two Englishmen on the field and I want it to stay that way.
Ah, amateur rugby! So Francis went off, holding his eye and Copsey played on. Ireland went to lose the match - against one of the worst Welsh sides in history - on a score of 16-15.
