‘Dangerous crush’ at Rugby World Cup sees woman faint in scary scenes

Rugby World Cup 2023 day 12 highlights

England rugby fans were reportedly caught up in a ‘dangerous’ crush after the World Cup win over Chile on Saturday. The incident threatens to open France up to further scrutiny after a sequence of events that reflect poorly on the tournament’s host nation.

Steve Borthwick’s England side put notions of unattractive rugby to one side at the weekend, when they dispatched Chile 71-0. Henry Arundell was the star of the show, scoring five tries to make it three wins from three.

After the game fans scrambled to get the tram back into Lille, creating a crush which, according to The Daily Mail, caused one woman to faint.

France has faced criticism for their heavy police presence at the tournament, with authorities focusing on controlling crowds rather than helping them.

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Groups of supporters packing into an overwhelmed public transport system has become a recurring theme at the tournament, with local taxi drivers driving up fares to capitalise on the sheer number of fans in attendance.

Concerningly, the incident after England’s win over Chile was not an isolated one as hundreds of supporters were caught in a ‘potentially catastrophic’ crush before the victory over Argentina earlier this month.

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Journalists and relatives were among those to miss kick-off in Marseille, with tournament organisers subsequently pledging to improve communication and provide more people on the ground to direct supporters.

“It was a total disgrace to get into the stadium – genuinely scary and dangerous – in a crush on a super steep set of steps,” one fan told The Telegraph. “The only saver was a rugby crowd being polite because it could have been catastrophic if people had charged the gates.”

The scale of police presence in France was also exemplified during England’s clash with Chile, when fans spotted a sniper inside the stadium.

Later on the Saturday, a journalist was reportedly dragged out of a room by security while trying to interview Arundell in a closed-off area, with World Rugby set to receive a formal complaint.

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