Ireland player alleges being bitten by Frenchwoman in Rugby World Cup quarterfinal

By Canadian Press on September 14, 2025.

EXETER, England (AP) — Ireland captain Sam Monaghan asked the match referee about an alleged biting incident during the loss to France in the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinals on Sunday.

Monaghan said teammate Aoife Wafer claimed she was bitten by opposite flanker Axelle Berthoumieu at Sandy Park.

Video of the incident by broadcaster BBC showed Berthoumieu on the bottom of a ruck with her mouth apparently on the arm of Wafer. Wafer then seemed to show her arm to referee Aimee Barrett-Theron.

“I spoke to the referee,” Monaghan said. “Aoife told me, I didn’t see it myself, but I spoke to the referee and asked them.”

Ireland coach Scott Bemand was asked about it after his side lost 18-13.

“I think in terms of process, your on-pitch leadership would mention to the referee,” Bemand said. “Then it’s up to the team officials to deal with it, should they see fit at that point.

“At the moment, I haven’t seen anything. If there are bits to pursue, we could potentially be disappointed but we’ve followed the process as best we can from our perspective in terms of the on-pitch conversations.”

___

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

The Associated Press