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PAU - Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga did his best to ease a post-match confrontation after his Toulon teammate Charl van Vliet was accused of racisim in a match against Pau in the French rugby second divison.
South African No 8 van Vliet was under fire after being accused of racism from a black compatriot, Pau second rower Guy Jeannard.
Jeannard left the field voluntarily moments before the final whistle of Saturday's 17-18 defeat to Toulon.
According to Pau club officials on Sunday, 34-year-old Jeannard said he had been the victim of "intolerable racist insults" on the part of van Vliet.
He decided to leave the pitch, he said, before doing something he would later regret.
In the tunnel leading from the pitch to the dressing rooms after the match, van Vliet is reported to have been surrounded and criticised by angry Pau players, but also by players from his own team.
In the aftermath of the incident, Umaga, the Toulon centre, tried to appease Jeannard, swapping shirts with Jeannard, who is not expected to take the matter any further.
Pau will likewise lodge no official complaint.
The president of Toulon, Mourad Boudjellal, also apologised to the player.
- AFP
