Johan Deysel, the Namibian international who injured France XV captain Antoine Dupont, receives a heavy sanction. The rugby player will be suspended at least five matches. Why “at least”? The basic suspension is six matches, but he has the possibility of reducing it to five if – and only if – he agrees to follow a training program… in tackling, the world rugby body specified in a press release. As a reminder, Antoine Dupont suffers from a maxillo-zygomatic fracture, but was operated on quickly. There remains a chance that he can return to the competition from the quarter-finals.
Scrum half Dupont (26 years old, 51 caps), left in the 46th minute of the match easily won by the Blues against Namibia (96-0) on Thursday September 21 in Marseille, following a head-to-head collision with Deysel, suffered a maxillo-zygomatic fracture. He was operated on the next day. The management of the XV of France hopes for a return of its major asset for the quarter-finals, on October 14 or 15 at the Stade de France. The Blues, who are not yet qualified, must play a final group match against Italy on October 6 in Lyon.
“I didn’t want to hurt him”
Deysel, who apologized after injuring Dupont, “intends to apply to participate in the tackling training program,” World Rugby said in the statement. Following his high tackle, the former Colomiers player (ProD2) received a yellow card, transformed into red by the refereeing body.
“Clearly I didn’t want to hurt him. It all happened very quickly and I couldn’t position my head quickly enough, resulting in a head impact. I know the rules and I immediately understood that I was in the wrong,” Deysel explained the day after the match, in a statement relayed by World Rugby.
