Yesterday's results in the French Rugby League Top 14 were overshadowed by a horrific red card tackle by Castres Olympique lock Ryno Pieterse.The encounter between the sides ended 23-23 after a late penalty levelled the game, but even that wasn't enough to take the main focus away from the red card incident.Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu had already booted the ball downfield when 6ft 5in Pieterse launched himself off the ground and into his opponent.It was a huge relief for fans to see the 5ft 9in Lucu conscious and moving around after the horrendous tackle.The Premier Sports TV commentator was clearly appalled at what he had just seen, describing the tackle as a “reckless, career-threatening challenge.”The size difference between the two players makes it easy to see why; Pieterse weighs in over four stone heavier and stands eight inches taller than Lucu.The Bordeaux players were understandably furious with the challenge, instantly surrounding Pieterse. The tackle from the South African was unnecessary, late and airborne, making it one of the easiest red card decisions you're ever likely to see.

Nigel Owens, the referee of the 2015 World Cup final, took to social media to voice his own views on the incident, describing the tackle as an "obvious red card" and stating that it "has to now be followed by a very, very lengthy ban."

Ex-England fly-half Andy Goode stated that he also believed there would be a "heavy ban coming for this mindless act.”

Fans were also quick to comment on the incident, with many of them comparing the tackle to something you would see in professional wrestling rather than rugby.

Unbelievably, though, there were still a minority of fans defending the challenge, with some even going as far as to claim there was nothing wrong with the tackle and the game was just going soft. Former Ulster and Ireland player Stephen Ferris simply commented, "Yellow...."

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Luckily, Lucu appeared to shake off the incident without any major damage, despite being immediately substituted after the incident. He later went on to say: "Everything is fine! Still standing."

Pieterse also released his own comments on the incident on Instagram, stating: "I would like to apologise to Maxime Lucu for my gesture yesterday. I didn't master my tackle and I'm sincerely sorry. As I told you after the game, I'm really happy that you're okay Maxime. Good luck for the rest of the season."