Referee Peyper facing inquiry after ‘shocking’ pose with fans
Official acts out French elbow against Wales Vahaamahina quits Test arena after dismissal ‘When I hit him, things were mixed up in my head’
in Tokyo
World Rugby has confirmed that it is looking into a photograph of South African referee Jaco Peyper posing with a group of Wales fans following their side’s World Cup quarter-final victory over France.
The picture shows Peyper jokingly re-enacting the elbow to the head for which he sent off France’s Sebastien Vahaamahina during Sunday’s game.
Serge Simon, the vice-president of the French Rugby Federation, yesterday demanded an explanation for Peyper’s actions, describing them as “shocking”.
Wales coach Warren Gatland, however, defended Peyper, saying “PC” people were “making a mountain out of a molehill” and that the South African was just having fun.
As the row escalated, Vahaamahina abruptly retired from international rugby yesterday, although the lock claimed he had made his decision months ago.
Vahaamahina struck Aaron Wainwright on the jaw during an attacking maul in Wales’s dramatic 20-19 win, giving Peyper no choice but to send him off and potentially costing France the match.
Peyper, though, invited controversy after a picture emerged on social media showing the South African
posing with a group of Wales supporters in which he jokingly elbows one of them in the jaw while another fan does the same to him.
Simon wrote on Twitter: “If this photo is real, it is shocking and explanations will be necessary.”
The picture is understood to have been taken after the game in Oita on Sunday evening.
Peyper, who flew up to Tokyo yesterday with his fellow officials, is understood to have posed for similar pictures with France fans.
A spokesman for the sport’s governing body said: “World Rugby is aware of a picture on social media of referee Jaco Peyper with a group of Wales fans taken after last night’s quarter-final between Wales and France in Oita. It would be inappropriate to comment further while we are establishing the facts.”
Vahaamahina will face a disciplinary hearing on Thursday following his dismissal. The 28-year-old insisted that his decision to quit Test rugby had nothing to do with his dismissal, adding that he had told his coaches and some of his fellow players of his intentions in the summer.
The Clermont Auvergne player will appear before an independent judicial committee chaired by England’s Mike Hamlin.
“My style of play and my position means I have to play with lots of aggression,” Vahaamahina wrote in a statement to Midi Olympique.
“When I hit him, everything was mixed up in my head. I wanted too badly for us to score again and I lost control. I am solely responsible.
“It’s hard, very hard for me, even more so because I have known for a few months that this would be my last game for France. I didn’t make it public because that’s not my style. The people concerned have known since the summer: Jacques Brunel [head coach of the France national team], Franck Azema [head coach of Clermont], a few players, too.
“I really wanted to do well and play the best match and the best competition possible. Maybe I wanted it too much.”
Gatland said he was unimpressed by the row. “He [Peyper] has had his 50th cap, he’s posing with a few fans and he’s making a bit of a joke about the incident in the game,” the Wales coach said. “How people interpret that is up to them.
“The way things are and how PC everyone is, people like to make mountains out of molehills. That’s how I view the situation at the moment.”