Namibia skipper Johan Deysel discovers his fate for tackle on France captain Antoine Dupont

Adam Kyriacou 26 Sep 2023 5:39 PM

Namibia captain Johan Deysel has been given a six-game suspension following his dangerous tackle on Antoine Dupont that left the France star with a facial injury.

Centre Deysel was shown a yellow card for the tackle which took place in the Rugby World Cup Pool A fixture between the two teams last Thursday. It was later upgraded to a red card.

France won the one-sided clash 96-0 as Dupont scored one of his side’s 14 tries at Stade de Marseille, as Les Bleus strengthened their footing at the summit.

World Cup over for Deysel

The ban means skipper Deysel will miss Namibia’s final Rugby World Cup pool game against Uruguay in Lyon on Wednesday, plus five other matches to be determined.

If the centre completes World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, the ban will be reduced to five games.

Deysel appeared before an independent disciplinary panel, when he accepted that foul play had occurred and had warranted a red card.

The panel decided that the entry point was a 12-match ban, then reduced by 50 per cent due to mitigating factors such as his disciplinary record and apology to Dupont, plus another match removed on completion of tackle school.

Johan Deysel clatters Antoine Dupont 🤕

It's upgraded to a red 🟥#RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/nPBNEgu1RO

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 21, 2023

World Rugby said that the panel categorised Deysel’s action as “being at the top end of the scale of seriousness of offending” with regard to the “degree of recklessness involved in the offending, the vulnerability of the victim player and the significant injury to him”.

France scrum-half Dupont underwent surgery in Toulouse following the incident, which has cast a huge cloud over France’s Rugby World Cup campaign.