The world of rugby still shaken by a business room. Two players from the Dax club will have to explain themselves to the courts, accused of “violence under the influence of alcohol” accompanied by “sexual assault” for one. They were taken into custody on Thursday.
Both unknown to French justice, according to the prosecution, the two rugby players were arrested on November 2, a few days after an alcoholic evening in different bars in downtown Dax the day after their team’s victory against Nice in Pro D2.
Two separate trials
One of the two, Ratu Nacika, is accused of acts of sexual assault, “committed on two victims, waitresses in two different establishments”, in a state of obvious intoxication, “accompanied by violence against a customer and damage to the door of one of the bars,” said the Dax prosecutor, Benoît Fontaine, in a press release. The 21-year-old player, placed under judicial supervision, will be tried on November 21 by the Dax court.
Aged 27, Jope Naseara is being prosecuted for violence committed “on the manager of a bar and a customer of this establishment”. He will be presented before the same court on May 5, 2025.
Club disciplinary procedure
In both cases, the two rugby players provided “few details on the facts”, admitting to having been drunk during their actions, said the prosecution.
The president of US Dax, Benjamin Gufflet, said in a statement on Thursday that the club wanted to “collaborate to shed light on the matter, with respect for the victims and the team’s partners”. The US Dax also announced that it had initiated disciplinary proceedings against the two players, “the result of which will depend on the seriousness of the facts established and the reaction of the players to the accusations”.
