The Five Nations Committee chief executive, Roger Pickering, has written to tournament sponsors Lloyds TSB complaining about the unacceptable on-pitch logo in Dublin which caked Ireland and France players in dye.

Pickering is powerless to act, though, over another talking point from the Five Nations opener which saw French wing Philippe Bernat-Salles wrongly identified and yellowcarded for a punch thrown by his colleague Philippe Benetton.

The Irish players were worst affected by the paint as on-pitch logos were used for the first time in the Five Nations.

The blue and red dye was not permanently adhesive to the turf, and Ireland's green shirts were soon multi-coloured. France, wearing blue, only had red stains disfiguring them.

Pickering said: "It was unacceptable, and I have told the sponsors that they must explore the technical side of this to ensure it does not happen again.

"We have seen matches in the Southern Hemisphere that have more pitch-branding than us, and the paint does not get all over the players."

The issue of Benetton - who was confirmed by TV replays as the puncher of Keith Wood while Bernat-Salles was an innocent bystander - is out of Pickering's hands.

"The match commissioner, Bob Rogers from England, can only act if there is a citing," he said.

However, Irish manager Donal Lenihan said: "We will not be taking the matter further, although clearly the right wing did not throw the punch."

It could be a case for the French Federation taking action against Benetton in the same way as Clive Woodward did last season when he suspended Martin Johnson for an undetected punch.

Fortunately for Bernat-Salles the yellow card he unjustly received after referee Peter Marshall consulted with his touch judges is not cumulative.