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Thu 24 Mar 2016 | 01:20
Ugly fight erupts between French and British navies in annual clash

13
Comments

The Six Nations is over and England took the honours in the final match, beating France on Saturday, but last night in Toulon there was a beating of a different kind going on as both countries' respective navies went toe to toe, and its safe to say there was no love lost.

The clash between the British Royal Navy and France's Marine Nationale played host to arguably one of the worst all-in brawls we've seen for a long time.

Everyone was involved, including those from the substitutes bench, as chaos broke out in the 'fight' for the Babcock International Trophy.

It was in 2005 that the two sides started playing for the trophy, and despite the fighting, the match ended with the hosts winning it 28-6, squaring up the overall head to head at 6-6.

Picking players to send off would have been no easy task, but there were two red cards shown (a prop from each side) and then some time was taken for the referee to cool everyone down.

After the game the two sides posed for a photo, and spirits were high despite the all in fracas (Royal Navy were in grey, and the French navy in blue).

"It kicked off a bit during the match, but they calmed down and the match was finished. They all went for a drink afterwards and there were no hard feelings," said a Royal Navy source.

video credit: ZACHAYUS1

Posted By: Grant Constable

13 Comments

  • flanker2712
    2:40 PM 28/03/2016

    I hope the props that were sent off weren't the Navy tighthead and the Marine loosehead. If you look in the background between about 0:05 and 0:10, they can be seen having a bit of a grapple but then seem to decide that they don't want to go there, so end up having a bit of a hug.

    Unless they threw the first digs to set the whole thing off, they were a beacon of camaradarie.

  • danknapp
    7:47 AM 27/03/2016

    I wouldn't want to be in the middle of it.

  • drg
    9:51 PM 25/03/2016

    ...Welcome to rugbydump where a sense of humour is actively discouraged...

  • floh
    8:35 PM 25/03/2016

    Don't know where you come from but in England and France soldiers are professional fighters, not professional boxers and they usually fight with weapons, not with fists ...

  • floh
    8:30 PM 25/03/2016

    Just tell them face to face big mouth coward. I would have a good laugh :)

  • moo
    8:15 PM 25/03/2016

    Oh dear. Given these are professional fighters, some of the punches are pretty pathetic.

  • drg
    8:45 AM 25/03/2016

    *rolls eyes*

  • nzbougnat
    9:17 PM 24/03/2016

    Did it? Not quite what the score line suggests

  • eddie-g
    8:57 PM 24/03/2016

    Fully agreed. These guys live and breathe for each other, they aren't going to stand to the side if one of their mates is getting wellied.

    For all the headlines this brawl has gotten, I kind of felt it was pretty civilized... I mean, as far as I could tell, two guys would square off in a fair contest. There were no garbage cheap shots thrown, no hits below the belt, all rather disciplined.

    And then to cap it off, two fat boys get scapegoated? There's something very quaint about it all.

  • drg
    8:27 PM 24/03/2016

    "French naval team immediately pulls out white handkerchiefs"

  • danknapp
    5:59 PM 24/03/2016

    You know, watching two military rugby teams fight doesn't seem like such a big deal. I mean, these are guys who have had to learn how to get incredibly aggressive when it's necessary. It must be quite difficult to turn that off when things kick off. The 'code' of supporting your mates is more important than blood, because the next time it happens might be when lives really are on the line. You can't spend years having that drummed into you and then switch it off in this sort of environment.

    I'm not saying it's a good thing, but I think it's understandable. Add in the unbelievable historic rivalry between these two navies, and I'm not surprised it kicked off.

    Rugby brawls may not be pretty, and aren't desirable, but at least the two teams had a beer together afterwards and all was forgiven.

  • finedisregard
    4:58 PM 24/03/2016

    Boys will be boys. They squashed their differences, played the game, shook hands and went for a drink. These things happen, it's not a big deal.

  • facepalm
    4:52 PM 24/03/2016

    Pathetic

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