England’s 30-24 Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory over Fiji was marred by fan brawling in the stands.
Several supporters, some dressed as Napoleon, were involved in the fight at Marseille’s Vélodrome Stadium.
rugby podcast The good, the bad and rugby posted a video of the fight on X with the caption: “Unpleasant scenes at the Stade Velodrome as several England fans are removed for fighting.”
The video showed several fans fighting in the stands before Sunday’s game.
During the fight, a fan was thrown headlong into the spectators below.
England’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory over Fiji was marred by fights in the stands
During the fight, a fan was thrown headlong into the spectators below.
Several followers, some dressed as Napoleon, were involved in the fight.
The video showed several fans fighting in the stands before Sunday’s quarterfinal match.
The violence was condemned by other fans.
One fan said: ‘Imposters. Rugby fans don’t behave like that.
Another added: ‘God! They are behaving like football hooligans.
And a third said: ‘Admiral Benbow’s has gone down with the ship there. Man overboard too.
On the field, Owen Farrell led England to the World Cup semi-finals after Steve Borthwick’s team faced a Fiji comeback.
England looked to be progressing into the next round when they led 24-10 in the final quarter thanks to tries from Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant and precise kicking from Farrell at the Stade Velodrome.
But their foundations shook when Peni Ravai went ahead in the 65th minute and a tense finish beckoned when Vilimoni Botitu crossed to level the scores soon after.
Farrell scored a drop-goal to usher in the excruciatingly tense final minutes and with Fiji throwing the kitchen sink at them, they intercepted a loose pass and accelerated downfield through Joe Marchant.
Farrell scored his fifth penalty and, despite the Islanders’ final attack, the white wall held firm to secure a semi-final against champions South Africa.
England beat Fiji 30-24 to advance to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals on Sunday afternoon.
Captain Owen Farrell was one of England’s stars, scoring 20 points against Fiji.
