A rugby match in the town of Perpignan in southern France Friday evening was delayed when a bull, brought to the stadium as pre-game entertainment, broke free and ran wild.
The Betfred Super League matchup was between the hometown Catalans Dragons, the only non-British team in the league, and St. Helens.
Dragons owner Bernard Guasch, also the owner of a local meat processing company, arranged for five bovines to take a pre-game lap around the field to honor the region’s beef — three bulls and two cows of the Gascon breed, according to the Daily Mail.
The placid lap, however, was not to the liking of one of the bulls. In a video posted on Twitter, the white bull can be seen dragging its handler, and then running around the grass.
Players, many of them redshirting for warmups, proceeded to scatter, with some jumping into the stands with fans to avoid the bull that was literally seeing red.
WOW!!
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) May 5, 2023
The new warm up at @DragonsOfficiel have really been spiced up at home this season!!!#Bullsintown #SkyRL pic.twitter.com/IwYM2xqYT5
The livid livestock eventually slowed down and became calm enough to be re-wrangled by a handler and led off the pitch, allowing the match to commence.
Despite the early bovine blunder, the hosting Dragons won 24-12 over St. Helens, overcoming a 0-12 deficit and breaking a losing streak of three games.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.