Sam Warburton accuses Romain Ntamack of a ‘revenge mission’ as his lack of ’emotional control’ could prove costly

Sam Warburton has hit out Romain Ntamack for what he believes to be a revenge mission.
Ex-Lions captain Sam Warburton has accused Romain Ntamack of going on a ‘revenge mission’ which resulted in his sending-off in the Six Nations opener against Wales.
Ntamack was featuring in his first Test match since sustaining a nasty knee injury that denied him the chance of featuring at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The fly-half enjoyed a rather strong outing for around 70 minutes before making a silly error that is likely to see him miss France’s round two clash against England, at least.
Romain Ntamack’s red card
The incident occurred when Tomos Williams chipped the ball over the French defence at the back of a ruck. Wales’ back Ben Thomas went in pursuit and regathered the ball before kicking through once again. As he did this, he was met by two French tacklers, with Ntamack thundering into him with a tucked arm.
Ntamack’s attempted tackle was subsequently reviewed by the officiating team and referee Paul Williams issued a yellow card to the playmaker before sending the decision to be reviewed.
Watch: Romain Ntamack makes unwanted history after ‘lazy’ tackle punished with 20-minute red card
The Foul Play Review Officer deemed that the incident was worthy of a red card which means that the French number 10 is now set to miss the next round of the Six Nations and possibly be out for even longer.
Reacting to what unfolded with BBC Sport, Warburton said that he believes Ntamack’s actions were a response to Thomas landing a big tackle on him earlier in the game.
The Welshman made a hard hit on Ntamack while France were on the attack inside Wales’ 22 and he rubbed salt into the wounds with a bit of afters on the ground.
Warburton’s take
Warburton believes that the Frenchman took exception to Thomas’ actions and went looking for revenge.
“Romain Ntamack got a red card. Now this, I think, is the absolute correct decision,” the former Wales flanker remarked.
“He is bolt upright, there’s force and it’s to the head, a senior coach will be completely annoyed by this.
“A complete lack of composure from Ntamack and this could be a massive blow for their Six Nations.
“The precursor to that was this shot from Ben Thomas, I think it is actually a great shot but it’s the bit of afters on the floor that Ben Thomas does, which you always do in international rugby.
“I think Romain Ntamack has taken it way too personally for what Ben Thomas did and then this looks like a revenge mission to me.”
France head to the Allianz Stadium in round two of the tournament where they will tackle England and are likely to do so without Ntamack’s services with a ban set to rule him out.
Warburton adds that his actions could derail Les Bleus’ title charge.
“That lack of emotional control has really cost France for their title and Grand Slam chances for the Six Nations. He will be very disappointed,” he concluded.
The red card had little impact on the final result as France cruised to a 43-0 victory, handing Wales their 13th straight defeat in international rugby.