Olympic rugby champion Masivesi Dakuwaqa has been sacked by French club Biarritz for biting a teammate during an alcohol-fuelled night out.
Dakuwaqa, who helped Fiji clinch a gold medal with victory over Great Britain at the Rio Games in 2016, admits he ‘drank too many beers’ and has offered his full apology to Pierre Pages after viciously biting his cheek.
The incident occurred at a team party at a restaurant in southern France last month and left Pages with a bloodied face, with the French rugby player requiring 20 stitches, leading to a full investigation by Biarritz.
Dakuwaqa was angered and became aggressive at the party when he was advised by several of his teammates to not drive home, with the Fijian gold medallist reportedly smashing a car window before his attack on Pages.
French rugby side Biarritz confirmed they had terminated Dakuwaqa’s contract in a public statement following their probe, while the club have also said they will not be making any further comments.
‘Following the club’s internal investigation, the allegations made against Masivesi Dakuwaqa have made it impossible for him to continue his involvement with the club,’ Biarritz said.
Dakuwaqa, speaking to French outlet L’Equipe, said: ‘I’d so much like to apologise to Pierre. To apologise to him and his family.
‘If I hadn’t been drinking, I’d never have done it. I drank too many beers. I lost my way.
‘We’d organised this meal between players to strengthen our team spirit after a series of defeats.
‘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 taken from Google.’
