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'He'll be punished': Rugby player's baffling victory act condemned

Josaia Raisuque, playing in France's second division competition, was handed a red card after his side's recent victory after lifting the match referee off the ground to celebrate. Picture: Twitter
Josaia Raisuque, playing in France's second division competition, was handed a red card after his side's recent victory after lifting the match referee off the ground to celebrate. Picture: Twitter

A rugby player in France’s second division competition has been savaged by fans and slammed by his own coach after a wildly inappropriate celebration.

Nevers winger Josaia Raisuque was so elated after their victory over rivals Beziers overnight that he waited until match official Laurent Millotte blew the final whistle before lifting the referee into the air.

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The bizarre incident drew an immediate red card from the referee, despite the game being technically over, with Raisuque quickly sent from the field.

Opposing players were disgusted with the 26-year-old’s celebration, while Nevers coach Xavier Pemeja all but condemned his winger’s antics when asked about them after the match.

“It’s intolerable. He’ll be punished by the league’s disciplinary committee,” Pemeja told Canal+TV.

“I’ll deal with him. I can’t accept it. What happened at the end there it’s going to be very bad.”

Fijian player Raisique has earned something of a chequered reputation, despite proving himself for Fiji 7s before moving to France.

First signed by Stade Francais in 2015, Raisuque earned a 15-week suspension for eye gouging in 2016 before being sacked by the club a year later following an incident at a Paris nightclub.

Melbourne Rebels training disrupted by border chaos

Melbourne Rebels are the latest sports team to get caught up in border mayhem with five Super Rugby players left in training limbo.

The Rebels' pre-season preparation has hit a hurdle with the five, including Cam Orr and Steve Cummins, trapped in NSW while the team has also had to find an alternate Melbourne training base.

Melbourne rushed the players out of Sydney to Wagga Wagga when the COVID-19 outbreak on the northern beaches flared to ensure they could avoid hotel quarantine after spending almost four months through the 2020 Super Rugby AU season on the road.

Lock Cummins had just returned from playing France and already endured two weeks hotel quarantine in December and only enjoyed a few days in Sydney with his family.

There was confusion about whether to stay in the regional city or try to beat the full border closure, with the Victorian government telling the club the players would be knocked back as they had already applied for an exemption.

"We didn't anticipate full closure of borders and we were very mindful that guys had such a tough draining year in 2020," club boss Baden Stephenson told AAP.

"The frustrating part was when we tried to move from Wagga to Melbourne like the 30,000 other travellers we were told to stay."

With AAP

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