Julian Savea's wife defends criticism of French rugby after Twitter backlash

Former All Blacks and Hurricanes winger Julian Savea. Photo / Photosport

The wife of Julian Savea has defended her criticism of French rugby after making comments on social media about the style of play during Toulon's clash against Stade Francais in the weekend.

"Rugby on this side of the world is very behind. I feel Julian's pain out there on the field," Fatima Savea tweeted during Toulon's 37-10 defeat.

She also suggested his new Toulon teammates had failed to get the ball to him: "When you can see the frustration on your husband's face... I swear this team doesn't know how to pass".

After a backlash from Toulon fans, Savea defended her comments.

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Julian Savea signed a two-year deal with Toulon, joining the team following the conclusion of the Super Rugby season.

View this post on Instagram

Proud of US @juliansavea7 💛 #team #longjourneytohappiness #myworld

A post shared by F A T I M A S A V E A 🦋 (@_timasavea) on Sep 5, 2018 at 2:02pm PDT

Toulon's defeat was marred by a fracas which saw a brother of one of the players run on to the pitch to get involved, confronting Savea.

Stade flanker Sekou Malacou clashed with All Black World Cup-winning wing, sparking a brawl involving virtually every player on the pitch.

Both players were eventually yellow carded but not before the France international's brother got involved.

He ran on to the pitch holding a flag in the pink colours of Stade. With his brother in the middle of the huge brawl he was not able to get at Savea - though he may have thought twice seeing the size of some of the players close up.

After being ushered off the pitch he then flared up in rage again, holding off a steward before angrily pointing a flag in the direction of Savea.

The incident had echoes of when former France No 8 Imanol Harinordoquy's dad ran on to the pitch to defend his son in a fight during a Biarritz v Bayonne clash in 2011.

The defeat left Toulon in 12th on the Top 14 standings with one win from their opening four games.

- With Daily Mail