Rugby: French captain Mathieu Bastareaud suspended for five weeks for brutal hit

  • 20/09/2018

French rugby captain Mathieu Bastareaud has received a five week ban by the French disciplinary committee, after brutally attacking an opponent in a Top 14 club clash at Toulon last week.

The barnstorming centre was sent off for smashing a forearm across the head of Castres lock Christophe Samson, as he lay prone on the ground.

One commentator described the incident as "bordering on assault," as Bastareaud was given a red card for the incident.

Bastareaud was initially handed a six-week suspension for the incident which was increased by one-week due to his disciplinary record, but because of the extenuating circumstances (recognition of guilt, conduct before and during the hearing, and expression of remorse), the penalty was  reduced by 2 weeks.

The ban means the 29-year-old will miss Toulon's next five fixtures and will be available for France's November tests against South Africa, Argentina, and Fiji.

Bastareaud's chequered disciplinary record includes a suspension for using homophobic slurs against Benetton's Sebastian Negri in a Champions Cup game at the start of the year.

He is also notorious for fabricating claims that he was mugged in Wellington during his first New Zealand tour in 2009, claiming he was attacked by five men at a taxi rank, when he was actually just extremely drunk.

Newshub.