France backrow Axelle Berthoumieu has received a 12-match ban for biting Ireland’s Aoife Wafer during Sunday’s Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final.
During an independent foul play review committee on Monday, Berthoumieu accepted that her actions deserved a red card but she is appealing the length of her ban.
France captain Manae Feleu has also been banned for three matches - with the option to reduce to two should she go to ‘tackle school’ - for a high tackle in the same match. Feleu does not accept the incident was a case of foul play and has appealed the decision.
Both players’ appeals will be heard on Tuesday. As things stand ahead of the additional hearing, Feleu and Berthoumieu will miss the rest of this World Cup.
RM Block
Early in the second half of Sunday’s fixture at Sandy Park, Wafer emerged from a ruck after winning a jackal penalty pointing towards her arm. She could be heard on the ref mic, and seen mouthing on the broadcast, that she had been bitten.
As Ireland prepared for play to restart, multiple players could be seen pointing to the big screen, asking the officials to review after seeing a replay of the incident.
Ireland captain Sam Monaghan confirmed post-match that she asked referee Aimee Barrett-Theron to review the bite after Wafer made the allegation. Barrett-Theron could be heard on her mic discussing an action on “seven green” with TMO Ian Tempest.
No formal review took place, the referee explaining that Tempest would sweep for any footage in the background as play continued.
In announcing the ban for Berthoumieu, World Rugby said that while reviewing Wafer’s allegation in real time, Tempest was “unable to determine clear and obvious foul play and did not have the benefit of additional evidential submissions to corroborate.”
The disciplinary committee, made up of Brenda Heather-Latu (Samoa), Ofisa Tonu’u (New Zealand) and Valeriu Toma (Romania) found that Berthoumieu had broken law 9.12 which references biting. They determined that the bite warranted the mandatory mid-range entry point of an 18-match ban.
Six matches were ultimately deducted from the punishment, with Berthoumieu said to be remorseful. However, the full mitigation available was not awarded due to “the seriousness of the player’s actions and that the player had the opportunity not to continue with the action.”
Footage of the incident appeared to show Bermothieu making multiple attempts to bite Wafer’s arm.
The ban rules the backrow out of the remainder of France’s World Cup campaign. They play England this weekend in the semi-final and then will contest either the final or a third place playoff.
As things stand, ahead of Tuesday’s appeal against the length of the punishment, Bermothieu will be free to play after March 1st, 2026. She will be available for next year’s Six Nations which begins on April 11th.
Feleu, who also was yellow carded for taking down an Irish maul in the first half, denied that her high tackle deserved a red card. She did acknowledge that her tackle was reckless and that there was head-on-head contact.
Her ban of six matches was cut in half to three, with an additional one-game reduction available should she undergo World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme.
