Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
World World
NZ NZ
Back

Latest Feature

'Sione changed my life by playing rugby' - Tuipulotu's father on emotional Scotland journey

Sione Tuipulotu's Tongan father on how rugby changed his ways as a father and husband.

'Unacceptable' - 130kg Stade Francais prop blasted for moment of madness

By Ian Cameron
Luke Tagi Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

A moment of madness from a Fijian international has been branded ‘unacceptable’ by the Fiji Rugby Union’s General Manager of High-Performance. Stade Francais prop Luke Tagi was sent off as his side fell to a home defeat to Top 14 rivals Bayonne at the Stade Jean-Bouin.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 130kg prop head-butted Ugo Boniface in the face as the scrum came up and was sent off for his efforts. Bayonne went on to win 26 – 19 in a rare away victory. It was the Fijian’s first sending off in professional rugby.

Video Spacer

RugbyPass Offload – Trailer
Video Spacer
RugbyPass Offload – Trailer

“Frankly it’s terrible to commit such a professional foul. It’s a real shame and puts us in a difficult position for the games to come,” Stade Francais head coach Gonzalo Quesada following the game.

Commenting on the incident on Twitter, Simon Raiwalui wrote: “I am the first person to highlight & promote our Fijian players worldwide. In being consistent I have to say that it is unacceptable the act of foul play Luke Tagi committed today. We want our players playing at the highest of levels at the best clubs/teams, not good enough…”

While Tagi was rightly lambasted, fellow Fijian Joe Ravouvou was winning praise. The former New Zealand Sevens international scored his first try for Bayonne after making the switch to the fifteen made code. Ravouvou signed with Aviron Bayonnais rugby for two years, having previously played fifteens for Auckland and Bay of Plenty in New Zealand.

ADVERTISEMENT

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Join Free
ADVERTISEMENT
TRENDING
TRENDING Irish TV pundit Matt Williams issues 'karma' tweet for Springboks Irish TV pundit Matt Williams issues 'karma' tweet
Search