Although a large chunk of the nation spent last night celebrating England’s massive win against Fiji in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the primarily jubilant scenes were left somewhat marred after clips of a large group of fans fighting began surfacing online.
Steve Borthwick’s side managed to overcome Fiji despite a seriously threatening and impressive late charge from their opponents, ultimately going on to win 30-24 after having nearly let a 24-10 lead slip through their fingers.
However, it would seem the tension was already high long before the Flying Fijians’ comeback as a video from the stands inside the Stade Vélodrome captured a fight which broke out between what appeared to be England fans and several French-speaking rugby supporters.
With two fans seemingly dressed as Lord Nelson — which one commenter said angered the home nation’s fans both inside the ground and on France’s metro public transport after deeming it a form of “hate speak” — a skirmish broke out and resulted in one man being launched over several rows of seats.
Shameful. Never seen this in rugby before. How disgusting.
Footage of the fight between what are thought to be England fans and French rugby supporters watching the Fiji game.
World Rugby has since confirmed that these fans were ejected from the stadium following the altercation and have apologised to other fans distressed by the scenes.
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Although it is not yet clear how the fight began or who instigated it beyond people taking offence to the fancy dress, it has been confirmed that none of those involved have been arrested over the incident.
The footage has upset many who condemned the supporters, with one person labelling it “disgraceful” behaviour “never [usually] seen in rugby“, as well as some adding, “Imposters. Rugby fans don’t behave this way” and that they were acting more “like soccer hooligans”.
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Despite an insistence that this isn’t representative of most rugby fans — traditionally referred to as ‘the gentleman’s sport’ — one commenter summed things up perfectly and with arguably the best pun we’ve heard in a long time.
Unfortunately, a lot of those who get tickets for big internationals are not necessarily rugby fans. It would be interesting to know if they have ever attended a club match – major league or local village – played the game or have any knowledge of the laws.
Arguing the other side of things, many of those reacting on social media suggested that fighting and incidents like this are becoming more common amongst England’s fan base, with one person remarking, “Always always England fan. The disgrace of international sport support.”
Beyond the fighting, it was a brilliant day for the Rose who booked their place in the final four thanks to a match-saving penalty from captain Owen Farrell, who made sure they had a chance at taking on South Africa in the penultimate round of the competition.
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England face off against Springboks in the semi-final on Saturday, 21 October at 8pm, where a win would put them that one step closer to their first Rugby World Cup in two decades since Jonny Wilkinson’s drop-goal brought it home with just 26 seconds left on the clock back in 2003.
You can watch the highlights from England’s defiant display against Fiji down below:
Featured Image — England Rugby (via IG)/The Good, The Bad & The Rugby (via Twitter)
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Danny Jones -
16th October 2023 
