Ivory Coast at the Rugby World Cup
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The Ivory Coast's only Rugby World Cup appearance was in 1995 when they were placed in Pool D with France, Scotland, and Tonga.
Their appearance in the 1995 Rugby World Cup was fairly notorious and controversial. In the opening game against Scotland, the Ivory Coast lost by 89 points to nil, a result which led many to question the inclusion of "minor" teams in the tournament. Worse still, three minutes into the third match, against Tonga, their winger Max Brito was crushed beneath several other players. Despite intensive care, Brito was left paralyzed below the neck.[1] He had caught a high ball that had been kicked up the field, and set off on a counter-attack.[2] He was tackled by Inoke Afeaki, the Tonga flanker, before a ruck formed over him. The ruck collapsed and several players fell on top of Brito, leaving him prone and motionless on the ground.[3] Brito was taken to the intensive care unit of the Unitas Hospital in Pretoria with broken vertebrae.[4] Operations were carried out to stabilize the fourth and fifth vertebrae, but Brito was left paralyzed below the neck.
In a 2007 interview, Brito was portrayed as living an unhappy life. He was quoted as saying that
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...It is now 12 years since I have been in this state. I have come to the end of my tether... If one day I fall seriously ill, and if I have the strength and courage to take my own life, then I will do it...This bloody handicap - it's my curse. It kills me and I will never accept it. I can't live with it and it's going to be with me for the rest of my life."[3]
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Brito's injury raised concerns about the presence of such teams in a rugby union environment on the brink of professionalisation.[2]
By position
Template:Ivory Coast Rugby World Cup record
Overall record
| Country | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga | 1 | — | — | 1 | 11 | 29 | -18 | 0 |
| File:Flag of France.svg France | 1 | — | — | 1 | 18 | 54 | -36 | 0 |
| File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 89 | -89 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | — | — | 3 | 29 | 172 | -143 | 0 |
1995 Rugby World Cup
Pool D matches -
Template:1995 Rugby World Cup Pool D
- Ivory Coast player Max Brito was left a quadriplegic after suffering a cervical spine injury in this match.
Team records
- Highest team score
- 18 vs File:Flag of France.svg France 1995
- 11 vs File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga 1995
- Biggest score against
- 89 vs File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland 1995
- 54 vs File:Flag of France.svg France 1995
- 29 vs File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga 1995
- Worst losing margin
- 89 vs File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland 1995
- 36 vs File:Flag of France.svg France 1995
- 18 vs File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga 1995
Individual records
- Most points
- Most points in a game
- 8 Victor Kouassi vs File:Flag of France.svg France
- 6 Athanase Dali vs File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga
- 5 Soumaila Okou vs File:Flag of Tonga.svg Tonga
- 5 Aboubakar Camara vs File:Flag of France.svg France
- 5 Soulama vs File:Flag of France.svg France
- Most tries
References
- Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (Template:ISBN)
- Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (Template:ISBN)
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- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Rugby World Cup History – The Plight of Max Brito Template:Webarchive Talking Rugby Union. 29-08-11. Accessed 20-09-11
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ L’Historique du Biscarrosse Olympique Rugby Template:Webarchive Biscarrosse Rugby. Accessed 19-09-11
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Template:Rugby union in Côte d'Ivoire Template:Rugby World Cup by nation