Five of the darkest off-field episodes in rugby union history
On the whole rugby union prides itself on respect and an ethos of off-field camaraderie. Yet it is as true of rugby as any other sport that inevitably a minority of players will find themselves taking decidedly dark turns on the road of life. Here RugbyPass takes a look at some of the game’s most sordid off-field chapters.
Marc Cecillon
French backrow Mark Cecillon was known as the ‘Quiet Man’ of French rugby in a career that spanned the late 1980s and 1990s. However, after his on-field career ended, his life took a very dark and ultimately homicidal path.
In 2004 Cecillon shot his wife dead in front of 60 people at a party in Saint-Savin in France with a 357 Magnum. He was originally sentenced to 20 years in prison, which was reduced to 14 on appeal.
The No.8 was released early from prison after serving just seven years but in September 2018 he was jailed again. Cècillion reportedly assaulted a vineyard owner and some other workers who tried to intervene at a post-harvest social event, before drunkenly getting in a vehicle and driving it into a parked truck.
He was sentenced to 12 months, six of which were suspended.
Bees Roux
While at the Blues Bulls in 2010 South African prop Bees Roux was charged with murder after he beat a police officer to death with his bare hands. Roux’s defence argued in court that he mistakenly thought he was being car-jacked by the victim, Sergeant Ntshimane Johannes Mogale, who had stopped the car the prop was travelling in.
Roux was originally charged with murder, but in a plea bargain agreement, he was convicted of ‘culpable homicide’ and given a five-year prison sentence which was suspended on the condition he pay his victim’s family 750,000 Rand.
He went to France where he continued his professional rugby career.
During the furore over the incident, then Springboks coach Peter de Villiers caused a controversyby saying the Boks were ‘100 per cent’ behind Roux, stating that: “It is an unfortunate reality that these things can happen to anybody. The team supports Bees 100 per cent, not on the deed, but rather on the circumstances that led to the situation developing.”
Poacher murdered on team-building exercise
In 2002 two South African rugby players were jailed for 18 years for murdering a man they found poaching while they were on a team-building exercise on a farm.
Riaan Botha and Ben Korff – members of the Noordelike Rugby Club – caught Tshepo Matloha and two cousins poaching.
A court heard how they beat Matloha to death and then threw his body into a lake in an attempt to cover up the killing. The case was widely reported as a racially motivated crime, although that premise was never proven.
The Axe Man
Another Blue Bulls player makes the list. Joseph Ntshongwana won 9 caps at various levels for the franchise between 1998 and 2001. Tragically, he went on axe-wielding rampage in 2011, hacking four men to death in the process.
He claimed he was avenging the gang rape of his daughter, which he alleged resulted in her contracting HIV. However the court later heard that there had been no rape and that Ntshongwana did not, in fact, even have a daughter.
His defence attempted to argue his innocence on the grounds of mental incompetence due to schizophrenia. They were unsuccessful and he was sentenced to five life sentences.
Argentine bowling alley killing
Earlier this year 11 players from the same Argentine rugby team were arrested in relation to the killing of a teenager outside a bowling alley in Buenos Aires .
The moments after the attack on Beaz Sosa, an only child, were caught on CCTV. The 11 players who were initially being investigated in relation to the killing all play for the Arsenal Zarate rugby club and were all aged between 18 and 20 at the time of the incident.
The trial is yet to take place.
Comments on RugbyPass
NZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
22 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
22 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
22 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
22 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
22 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
22 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to comments