The young center of the XV of France suffers from a fractured cheekbone and will be absent between six and eight weeks.
Bordeaux-Bègles international center Nicolas Depoortère suffered a severe head concussion after a violent collision with Perpignan winger Apisaï Naqalevu. He suffers a fractured cheekbone and will be out for six to eight weeks, having undergone surgery on Thursday to have a plate fitted due to a displaced fracture in the orbital area.
Questioned on the airwaves of France Blue Gironde the father of Nicolas Depoortère confided his anger in this violent action which forced his son to be evacuated on a stretcher: “Everyone has seen the images, it’s an attack! This is not a game fact. It is incomprehensible. We talk about player safety from morning to night, and that’s very good, we also know that it’s a combat sport, we know that there are risks but frankly, it’s indefensible. He just had to tackle him to push him into touch and instead he did nothing to make a tackle. He just ran into him to hurt.”
“You have to put 15 or 20 weeks of suspension and you will see, as if by chance, the clubs teach them to lower themselves”
And Alexandre Depoortère asserts: “It is often the same perpetrators of this type of gesture. So we know that he is a player who cannot bend down. For me, you have to put 15 or 20 weeks of suspension and you will see by chance the clubs teach them to lower themselves. The guy, if he makes two in the season, it’s 40 weeks and the club will really teach him how to make a tackle. Otherwise he will no longer take it and he will no longer be recruited. There will always be incidents of gambling but, no, that’s not possible. He hit him on the head and I remember that Nicolas is 1.95 m tall. So there is no discussion.”
Nicolas Depoortère, 21, made his first selections for the French team during the last Six Nations Tournament and was expected to appear in coach Fabien Galthié’s list of 42 for the next autumn tour which begins at the beginning of November. But he will miss the three matches of the French XV which will take place on November 9 against Japan, on the 16th against New Zealand and finally on November 22 against Argentina.
France
