Ireland vs France: Referee Asked About Bite Incident
- Ireland captain Sam Monaghan has confirmed she raised a biting allegation with officials during Sunday's Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France at Sandy Park.
- Early in the second half, Aoife Wafer emerged from a ruck pointing at her arm after securing a jackal turnover.
- "I spoke to the referee, I didn't see it," said monaghan.
Biting Allegation Surfaces After Ireland’s World Cup Quarter-Final Win Against France
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Ireland captain Sam Monaghan has confirmed she raised a biting allegation with officials during Sunday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France at Sandy Park. The allegation stems from an incident involving French flanker Axelle Berthoumieu and irish backrow Aoife Wafer.
The Incident: What Happened?
Early in the second half, Aoife Wafer emerged from a ruck pointing at her arm after securing a jackal turnover. Irish players afterward drew attention to replays of the incident on the stadium’s big screen. Footage quickly circulated on social media, appearing to show a potential biting incident.
“I spoke to the referee, I didn’t see it,” said monaghan. “I spoke to the referee and asked could they have a look at it. [The check] was through TMO.”
Following the match, World Rugby confirmed that Axelle Berthoumieu had been cited for an action contrary to Law 9.12 (biting), and second row Manae Felu was cited for an action contrary to Law 9.13 (dangerous tackling).
The Aftermath and Official Response
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand was cautious when questioned about the alleged bite, stating he woudl not “get drawn into” the discussion immediately after the game. “We’ve literally just stepped off the pitch,” he said. “If there’s any bits to pick up, we’ll pick up in the next hour.”
Bemand outlined the process followed by the Irish team: “I think in terms of process, your on pitch leadership would mention to the referee.then it’s up to the team officials to deal with it should they see fit at that point. I’m not going to get drawn into anything at this point. at the moment, I haven’t seen anything. As I said I’ve literally stepped in hear. If there are bits to pursue, we could potentially be disappointed but we’ve followed the process as best we can from our outlook in terms of the on-pitch leadership.”
Understanding the Laws and Potential Sanctions
Law 9.12 of World Rugby’s laws specifically addresses biting. It states that a player must not