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'It was unbearable. I was scared... I was afraid I'd lose my job' - Fijian player who lifted ProD2 ref breaks silence

By Ian Cameron
Josaia Raisuqe and Kwagga Smith (Photo by Sam Tsang/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

The player who hoisted a referee into the air at the end of a ProD2 match in France has broken his silence in an interview with Midi Olympique. Josaia Raisuque says he deeply regrets the incident, which is either hilarious or outrageous, depending on who you talk to.

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Raisuque hoisted referee Laurent Millotte into the air in a moment that had become a viral hit in rugby circles. Milotte gave him a red card after Beziers players made a huge fuss, hoping to have the crucial penalty reversed.

Now Raisuque has told Midi Olympique that he lifted the referee in joy and meant no ill will towards him and how he has endured a hellish week of no sleep as his phone won’t stop ringing. “The day after the game, when I woke up, it was all over the internet. I was completely overwhelmed by the event. On Instagram and Facebook, I had hundreds of posts. My phone kept ringing. It was unbearable.

Video Spacer

Referee JP Doyle reacts to the incident in the ProD2.

Video Spacer

Referee JP Doyle reacts to the incident in the ProD2.

“I was scared,” he told Midi. “I was afraid the leaders of Nevers would be angry. I was afraid of losing my job. I thought to myself that maybe what I had done was serious.”

The 6’4, 113kg winger did a funny dance before lifting Millotte into the air. “It was just a way of expressing my joy. We had just won in Béziers (30-25), the performance was good, I was excited.”

“I was happy, that’s all: in Pro D2 it’s hard to win away from home. […] At the time, I did not calculate anything. At the end of the match, the first person I saw was the referee and I lifted him up, that’s all. It was awkward but I didn’t mean to hurt him! I was just happy!”

Although at first, his teammates found the incident highly amusing, they later pointed out it was probably a step too far.

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“At first, it made them laugh. Then in the locker room, some of them said to me: “We don’t do that here, Wini. You may have big problems.” That’s when I realized … Until then, I hadn’t thought about the consequences. It was just an instinctive thing.”

The winger who used to play for Stade Francais in the Top 14 said that he would like to tell the referee that he is sorry, as he didn’t see the official following the match.

“I would have liked to tell him that I was sorry, that there was no aggressiveness in my gesture… I would have liked to tell him that at home, rugby is just a game and that we appreciate it differently, that’s all.”

“I know that I should not have behaved this way.”

“A few hours later all my friends in Fiji knew about it. It all got over me. My father called me. He was pissed off and I don’t like it when he’s like that. […] After that I had a really hard time sleeping. Not only because I felt guilty but also because the phone would not stop ringing …

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“I’m afraid of being heavily punished. The disciplinary committee, that’s all I think about. I hope they will understand though that my gesture was not aggressive.

“I regret it so much… I don’t know why I did this.”

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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