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Another New Zealander in disciplinary trouble at a Pro D2 club
A week after it emerged that ex-Super Rugby player Jonathan Ruru had reportedly played his last match for Provence in the Pro D2, Elijah Niko has become the latest New Zealander to find himself in disciplinary trouble at a second-tier French club.
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The former NZ Warriors and Melbourne Storm rugby league prospect has been playing union for more than a decade with stints at Pau, Albi and Beziers in France before switching to England to play for Leeds, Ealing and Bedford.
In more recent times, the 32-year-old headed back across the Channel to play for Aurillac in Pro D2 but he has been marked absent this past month. His club claimed he was on sick leave but French media are now reporting that he has been sidelined following alleged intolerable behaviour in the wake of his team’s March 9 home loss to Grenoble.
A La Montagne report published on Thursday was headlined: In the fridge for a month, Elijah Niko (Aurillac) has put himself on the sidelines. The article claimed that the versatile backline player had physically attacked a member of staff and hadn’t trained since then with the club.
“For being guilty of behaviour deemed ‘intolerable’ after the defeat against Grenoble, Elijah Niko has not appeared in matches or training since,” it read. “He sought to physically attack a member of the staff and has since been in the fridge. Officially, the player is ‘on sick leave’.”
Incredible allegations coming out of France about a party in Provence some months ago. #ProD2 https://t.co/yoKUXHV3dT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 30, 2023
The report went on to allege that Niko had to be held back post-game in the dressing room by three Aurillac forwards having earlier dissed instructions from the staff member he went on to physically attack. The altercation came just months after Niko had signed a contract extension at the club.
These revelations about the Wellington-born Niko, who was in the Samoan squad for their cancelled November 2021 Killik Cup match versus the Barbarians at Twickenham, became public seven days after local media elsewhere in France reported that former Blues scrum-half Ruru wasn’t absent since December with a nasty knee injury, as was claimed by his club Provence.
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“An argument broke out after the 30-year-old scrum-half struck… the wife of one of his teammates,” reported La Provence, revealing details of a new year party that went wrong.
“Immediately after this incomprehensible and intolerable gesture, an Aix player inflicted a real correction. Verdict: broken jaw and shoulder. Hospitalised and then operated, Ruru was sent a few weeks later to the European Centre for Sports Rehabilitation in Capbreton for treatment.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
102 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
102 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
102 Go to commentsHo hum.
102 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
102 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
102 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
102 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
102 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
102 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
102 Go to commentsWith all the analysis and how good the all blacks were.The fundamental mistake with the ABs is that this is a test match and not an exhibition.There is no better team(country) in world rugby than the Boks that knows how to win a test match(we are post masters at this).We know our rules, we have the discipline, we tackle like beasts, we take our points and we never give up.I now have educated the ABs supporters(at least say thank you).Please stop “bitching” , accept what the outcome is and move along swiftly.
102 Go to commentsAnd they came from behind to win two big games before the final. No one can say what would have happened. Had the boks gone behind the game plan changes and the result may changes. Ifs and ands are irrelevant. The boks won. Neutral critics enjoyed the games they played. Its not a popularity contest. Get over it and move on.
102 Go to commentsI'm happy for the people of SA to get a second WC. And I mean that. I was very disappointed with this man's “stand on the hand” incident with Josh Van Der Flyer (Ireland). Ireland's downfall in the last WC was they did not rotate their first 15 as the head coach probably should have. That said, I'm happy for SA and genuinely hope it lifts the mood in their country. Ireland did beat them in the first match of the tournament. And before the trolls start trolling ….. please don't bother. Etzbeth said recently that the Irish players said after the match “see you in the final”…..this was actually wishing the SA team the best of luck in the rest, the Irish team were not dismissing the AB’s. This is what Etzbeth was implying. But he was wrong. I no longer live in Ireland. But I hope to see them lift that cup before I pass. Anyway, congratulations SA. 👍
12 Go to commentsMore bloody click bait. Dan Carter has said absolutely nothing. As he should do. Poor journalism again from a site that should know better
9 Go to commentsOh god please help these loosers get over it!!!! You lost. Doesn't matter how many times you dummies are gonna analyse the game, you still lost and we are still Rygby World Champions….get over it, you lost.
102 Go to commentsThe next Willie le Roux. SA are made not to use him.
3 Go to commentsDan has always been as controversial as tea with milk so we were never going to get any definitive answer. So DMac for the win.
9 Go to comments