Harinordoquy's Dad joins rugby fight
The father of Biarritz No8 Imanol Harinordoquy decided to take matters into his own hands when his son was involved in a brawl during last night's Basque derby by running onto the pitch to punch a Bayonne player.
Lucien Harinordoquy came down from the stands in the sixth minute of the Top 14 game, which Biarritz won 21-19, and faced up to flanker Jean-Jo Marmouyet after his son (right, in action last night) got involved in a punch-up.
His sense of family loyalty was brought to a halt by Bayonne fly-half Benjamin Boyet, who tackled him to the ground before Biarritz hooker Benoit August restored order.
"I tackled him because he was attacking one of my team-mates," said Boyet. "I put him to the ground and Benoit told me to stop because it was Imanol's father."
Christian Gajan, Bayonne's director of rugby, was outraged by the incident and is urging the authorites to take action against the France international's father. He said: "I find his behaviour deplorable, that he came onto the pitch to defend his son by boxing. You could have been mistaken for believing it was a youth match between two local villages. It was scandalous."
