“I Meant No Disrespect to Anyone”: Diver diva Nolann Le Garrec apologises

France rugby player Nolan Le Garrec has stepped forward to apologise for his ridiculous dive. The Breton scrum-half’s actions sparked widespread reaction on social media and among rugby fans around the world.

On Saturday at Aimé-Giral Stadium, Nolann Le Garrec drew attention for his dive in the 70th minute. The Racing 92 scrum-half went down after what appeared to be a harmless and unintentional contact with USAP loosehead prop Bruce Devaux. Such theatrics are rare in rugby, and the referee, not fooled, allowed play to continue and firmly reminded Le Garrec of his conduct, though no formal warning was issued.

The footage quickly went viral, igniting backlash across social platforms. Some fans mockingly nicknamed the French international “Neymar Le Garrec.” Even former international referee Nigel Owens weighed in on the controversy.

“I Apologise to the Match Officials”
On Tuesday evening, the Breton player issued an apology via Midi Olympique.

“I wanted to address the situation regarding the contact to my head and my inappropriate reaction. At the time, I took a shoulder to the face from the USAP prop and couldn’t immediately tell if it was intentional or not. In that moment, I didn’t know if it was aggression on his part. The tension in the game was high—we had just received a yellow card ourselves for head contact. I honestly didn’t know how to respond to that shoulder.

After watching the footage, I now see that it was clearly unintentional on the part of the prop. I apologise to the match officials! I meant no disrespect to anyone. This is not part of who I am.”

While the apology has been welcomed by some, the debate continues on how rugby should deal with simulation to preserve the spirit of the game.