Top 14 leaders Montpellier smashed second-placed Racing 92 41-3 at the weekend, but the win was marred by a scrap between Bismarck du Plessis and teammate Mohamed Haouas in the match warm-up.
The pair exchanged several punches before being dragged apart by their teammates, with both front-rowers looking furious. Forwards coach Nathan Hines, meanwhile, looked on nonchalantly as if it was just another day at the office.
Du Plessis has garnered quite a reputation for his abrasiveness and temperament so perhaps it’s not a surprise that he was in the middle of this.
We are quite used to seeing front-rowers tussle with each other, but normally during a match and with the opposition. Training fights are also commonplace, but a fight in the warm-up seems to be a first.
The altercation didn’t seem to affect Montpellier though, with Jan Serfontein, Nico Janse van Rensburg, Timoci Nagusa, and Louis Picamoles all scoring against their title rivals.
Le choc de la 20ème journée de @top14rugby tient ses promesses dès l’échauffement ! Séquence étonnante: deux joueurs du @MHR_officiel échangent des coups de poings et doivent être séparés par leurs coéquipiers.
Un sommet qui promet d’être chaud bouillant ! pic.twitter.com/5st11C5C3Y— Canal Rugby Club (@CanalRugbyClub) March 10, 2018
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