‘I lost my way': Rugby player is cut loose after biting a teammate
A rugby player was dropped by his professional club in France after he bit his teammate during a night out.
Masivesi Dakuwaqa, a gold medalist with Fiji at the 2016 Olympics, played for Biarritz Olympique, a second-tier team known by the abbreviation BOPB.
'Following the internal investigation conducted by the Club, the facts alleged against Masivesi Dakuwaqa made it impossible for him to continue his engagement with the club,' the team said Monday in a statement. 'It was mutually agreed to end his collaboration with the BOPB. The BOPB wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the values of the club and will not make any further comment on this decision.'
Biarritz players gathered last month for a team party at a restaurant in southern France when Dakuwaqa reportedly became angry after teammates advised him not to drive home. The 30-year-old allegedly smashed a car window, spurring teammate Pierre Pagès to approach and try to talk to him, at which point Dakuwaqa bit Pagès, whose face was so bloodied it required 20 stitches.
The team said Monday it terminated its contract with Dakuwaqa following an internal investigation into the incident. On Tuesday, the Fijian apologized to Pagès in the French newspaper L'Equipe.
'I'd so much like to apologise to Pierre. To apologise to him and his family,' he said. 'It should never have happened. If I hadn't been drinking, I'd never have done it. I drank too many beers. I lost my way.'
Dakuwaqa played for Fiji's rugby sevens squad, which defeated Britain in 2016 to win the country's first Olympic medal in any sport. He described the incident to L'Equipe, noting his attorney said he was prohibited from reaching Pagès directly.
'We'd organised this meal between players to strengthen our team spirit after a series of defeats,' Dakuwaqa recounted. 'Everything was going well. We were telling stories and having a laugh. Then I had a blackout. I can't remember what happened. I woke up in a drunk tank, without my shirt, wondering what I was doing there. I couldn't remember a thing. I told myself I'd done something wrong, but I didn't know what. When the police questioned me, I asked them: 'Why am I here, what have I done? They said, 'You bit someone. I asked them, 'Who did I bite?' Then they showed me a photo of Pierre.'
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