Namibia captain apologises for Antoine Dupont tackle amid social media abuse

Namibia captain Johan Deysel has apologised for injuring France captain Antoine Dupont during the Rugby World Cup Pool A match on Thursday as he continues to receive abuse online.

Deysel made head-on-head contact with Dupont early on in the second half of the clash in Marseille and was sent off for the challenge.

The France skipper is set to be sidelined for the last pool game against Italy while his World Cup hopes hang in the balance.

Deysel apologies for his tackle

Meanwhile, Deysel has been the subject of online abuse but fronted reporters on Friday where he made a public apology to the Les Bleus captain.

“I would like to extend my best wishes to Antoine Dupont. Clearly, I meant no harm,” he said.

“Everything happened very quickly, and I couldn’t get my head out of the way quick enough, resulting in a head clash. I know the rules and immediately knew that I was at fault.

“I spoke with coach Fabien Galthie immediately after the match and sent my best wishes and apologies to Antoine both personally and via the France team doctor.

“He is a great player and person and I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Deysel has been receiving so much backlash on social media that the Namibian star has switched his Instagram profile to private.

“A ridiculous number of hate comments have been directed at Deysel since yesterdays game, to the point where he’s had to put his account on private. It’s sickening the response to something that was clearly unintentional,” @premrugbynews wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another added: “I’ve seen a few vile takes from France and some from UK/Irish regions regarding Johan Deysel. Please STOP! No player runs on the park to deliberately hurt other players. I’m sure he’s gutted for letting his teammates down & also causing harm to another player.”

Meanwhile, former England and Saracens centre Brad Barritt shared his well wishes for Dupont and spared a thought for Deysel.

“Every rugby fan, around the world is rooting to see the “maestro” Antoine Dupont back at the RWC! What a player! Fear not rugby world, where there’s a will, there’s a way! Try spare a thought for Johan Deysel, he will be gutted & take responsibility, but not intentional,” his post read.

https://twitter.com/bradbarritt/status/1705182961652424838

Coetzee defends his captain

Namibia head coach Allister Coetzee defended his skipper, adding that he is not a dirty player.

“Johan Deysel is a great and experienced leader with a clean history regarding cards and foul play,” the former Springboks coach said.

“He is a good person and captain with no malice. While I appreciate that fan emotions can run high, I would like to reiterate that his actions were not to cause harm. He was attempting to execute a tackle. We are united behind him.”

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