Nolann Le Garrec issues statement after outcry over much-maligned dive

Racing 92 scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec has issued an apology following his infamous dive against Perpignan in the latest round of Top 14 action, describing his theatrics as an “inadequate reaction”.

With ten minutes remaining of Racing’s 28-24 defeat to Perpignan at the Stade Aimé Giral, the France international collapsed to the floor clutching his face after brushing into prop Bruce Devaux off the ball.

The 22-year-old was taken aside by referee Kevin Bralley soon after, who reprimanded his actions.

But the criticism did not end there, with Le Garrec facing a public lampooning this week on social media, with plenty of calls for the player to receive a ban.

In light of his actions, or more importantly the backlash to his actions, Le Garrec issued a public apology on Tuesday through French publication Midi Olympique. 

In the apology, the 10-cap international recognised that Devaux did nothing wrong, adding that the “tension was high” in that moment of their relegation scrap, as his team-mate Vinaya Habosi had recently been sent off.

“I wanted to come back to the situation of my contact to the head and my inadequate reaction,” he said.

“At the time, I received a shoulder blow to the face from the Perpignan prop and I did not perceive at all if it was intentional or not. At the time, I do not know if it was nervousness on his part or not.

“At that moment of the match, the tension was high and we had just received a yellow card ourselves for contact to the head. In any case, I did not know how to react to this shoulder blow.

“After reviewing the images, I see that this gesture was completely involuntary on the part of the prop. I apologise to the match referees! I did not want to disrespect anyone. It is not in my habits.”