Rugby's biggest ever bans from cheating scandal to double lifetime suspension
A France star has been handed a 12-game ban for biting but the suspension pales in comparison to the sport's biggest punishments
French rugby ace Axelle Berthoumieu has been hit with a hefty ban for biting an opponent during her team's quarter-final victory at the Women's Rugby World Cup.
The back-row player was caught on camera seemingly biting Ireland's Aoife Wafer during Sunday's last-eight match, which France managed to win 18-13 despite being 13-0 down at the time of the incident.
Wafer complained to the referee at the time, but no action was taken as the television match official claimed there wasn't enough evidence to send off Berthoumieu.
However, following widespread outrage over the incident, Berthoumieu was later cited and has now received a massive 12-game ban after admitting she committed a red-card offence. Although she plans to appeal against the ban, as it stands, Berthoumieu won't be back on the rugby field until March next year.
Despite this ban being one of the largest handed out in 2025, however, it's dwarfed by some of the biggest suspensions in rugby history. From shocking assaults to drug offences and an infamous cheating scandal, here's a look at some of rugby's most serious offenders from over the years.
Johan le Roux (19 months)
All Black legend Sean Fitzpatrick was famously on the receiving end of a bite from le Roux during a Test in Wellington in 1994, which resulted in the Springboks prop being banned from rugby for 19 months. His actions were widely criticised, with the South Africa RFU president stating he had "brought shame" to the country.
The then-32 year old described the incident as a "moment of madness" but later remarked: "For an 18-month suspension, I feel I probably should have torn it off. Then at least I could say I've returned to South Africa with the guy's ear."
Richard Nones (Two years)
The former Colomiers prop received the maximum two-year ban for gouging, after targeting Pontypridd tighthead Sven Cronk during a Heineken Cup match at Sardis Road in 1999. More than 25 years later, it remains the longest ban handed out for an act of violence on a Welsh rugby field in the professional era.
Julien Caminati (33 months)
The French fourth division winger was just 18 years old when he was initially banned for three years for spitting at a ref, but this suspension was reduced to 26 months when he signed for Nice. However, after moving to Brive, he was then expelled from the game for a further six months due to a drug offence, while he received an additional three weeks for punching an opponent.
Bruno Andres Doglioli (Three years)
In a shocking act of brutality, the skipper of Italian Serie A outfit Rangers Rugby Vicenza savagely attacked female referee Maria Beatrice Benvenuti from behind, sending her tumbling to the turf and leaving her suffering from whiplash.
The Argentine astonishingly received just a yellow card from Benvenuti, who courageously got up again to complete the match. However, he was subsequently suspended by his club before copping a three-year ban from all competitive sport.
In a statement, the Italian Rugby Federation said it "would like to reiterate that this sanction - the heaviest in the last 20 years - underlines that when it comes to infringing the rules of the game and, above all, the fundamental values of our sport, we will show zero tolerance".
Dean Richards (Three years)
The former Harlequins team boss was slapped with a three-year suspension in 2009 over his involvement in the notorious 'Bloodgate' scandal which dragged the sport's reputation through the mud.
A nail-biting Heineken Cup clash was entering its dying moments with Quins trailing 6-5 to Leinster and desperately needing to introduce a specialist goal-kicker to snatch victory.
However, with fly-half Nick Evans already withdrawn from the pitch earlier in the contest, their only route back was through a blood substitution for another player.
Consequently, Quins winger Tom Williams swiftly departed the field with 'blood' streaming from his mouth, but it soon transpired that he had actually bitten down on a fake blood capsule to feign an injury. Williams and physio Steph Brennan were also handed bans alongside Richards, who made a return to rugby after his ban expired and guided Newcastle Falcons to the second division title in 2013.
He remained with the Premiership side as their Director of Rugby until 2022, before stepping down to work as a part-time consultant for the club.
Trevor Brennan (Five years)
The Irish forward was at the centre of shocking scenes during his Toulouse side's clash with Ulster in 2007, when he leapt into the crowd and assaulted an opposition fan while warming up to enter the pitch. He later claimed that he had been provoked by abuse towards his mother.
Before the outcome of the disciplinary process was revealed, Brennan announced his retirement from the game at the age of 33. He was subsequently banned for life from playing rugby, fined £17,000 and ordered to pay an additional £3,000 to the fan he attacked. However, the ban was later reduced to five years following an appeal.
Cipriano Martinez (29 years)
The Argentine prop stunned rugby fans around the world when footage of him violently kicking an opponent in the head during an amateur match emerged in 2016. His victim, San Albano lock Juan Masi, was already on the ground when Martinez kicked him, leading his club, Pucara, to swiftly issue a 99-year ban against him.
He then received an official sanction from the Buenos Aires Rugby Union, who suspended him for 1,508 weeks - the equivalent of 29 years.
Grootfontein Rugby Club player (banned for life)
An unnamed Namibian rugby player was slapped with a lifetime ban after he shockingly knocked down a referee during a match between Grootfontein Rugby Club and Reho Falcons in May last year. The horrifying footage shows the Grootfontein player walking away from his teammates, then suddenly turning around, sprinting towards the official and brutally tackling him.
After recovering from the savage hit, the referee showed the player a red card and ended the match early due to safety concerns. A disciplinary hearing later resulted in the player receiving a lifetime suspension from playing and a 156-week ban from all forms of rugby.
Pablo De La Plata (banned for life)
During an Argentine club match between Huazihul San Juan and Personal Bank Mendoza in June 2016, a mass brawl broke out resulting in nine players from both teams receiving hefty bans for their involvement in the violence. However, it was De La Plata of Huazihul who received the harshest punishment - a lifetime suspension, or until December 31, 2041,.
His teammates Jose Maria Araoz and Carlos De La Plata were banned for 10 years, while team captain Nicolas De La Plata was suspended for three years. Two additional players received bans of one and two years respectively.
Michel Palmie (banned for life)
The fearsome French lock had a reputation as one of the hardest men in rugby, with it once claimed that he "punched and gouged his way from Paris to Toulouse". In 1978, his playing career was ended as he was banned for life for punching Racing Club's Armand Clerc in the face, with the blow leaving his opponent partially blinded in one eye.
Remarkably, though, Palmie later became an official within the French Rugby Federation.
Chris Jones (banned for life, twice)
The ex-Treorchy hooker secured his position as one of rugby's biggest bad boys by achieving the remarkable feat of receiving not one, but two lifetime bans. He has openly acknowledged being a "wild man" on the field, kicking, punching and stamping on opponents, while he even kept an axe in his kit bag.
His initial lifetime suspension followed a sending-off for brawling with an opponent, just a few appearances into his return from a six-month ban.Following an appeal to the Welsh Rugby Union, he was permitted to return after less than two years, only to receive his second lifetime ban after flooring an opposition player within just a handful of matches of his return.
"It was the law of the jungle," he subsequently revealed to WalesOnline. "The game was hard and you had to be tough to survive in it. I was prepared to do absolutely anything - boot, punch, kick, gouge, whatever it took.
"I had a terrible reputation. Absolutely terrible. People used to call me a psychopath and a wild man. It's nothing to boast about. It's just the way that it was."