Accident.

Ireland loosehead prop Andrew Porter has hit back at France head coach Fabien Galthie following claims that the front row intentionally injured Antoine Dupont.

Tadhg Beirne and Porter were involved in the incident at the breakdown that left Dupont seriously injured and France furious

Galthie labeled the Irish clear-out “reprehensible” – announcing his intention to refer Beirne and Porter to the citing commissioner for possible retrospective punishment.

Both players were cleared to feature in Saturday’s final-day fixture away to Italy but French rugby president Florian Grill has stated that they will be appealing the decision.

Speaking to the media yesterday, Porter was adamant that he’d had “no malicious intent.”

“He can say what he wants, see how far it gets him,” Porter said in response to Galthie’s comments.

“I knew what I did; I didn’t go out to try and injure anyone. That’s not the type of player I am. If he [Galthie] wants to think that, that’s up to him.

“I even sent Antoine a message on Instagram just to see how he was and obviously you never want to see anyone going off the pitch like that.

“If you have the head coach calling for your head, it’s a bit much.

“But he’s such a pivotal player for them that they nearly don’t want him to be touched at all. Look, he’s entitled to his opinion but I know I haven’t done anything wrong there. I sleep well at night.”