Dad jumps onto field to defend 31-year-old rugby star

Parents often get impassioned when watching their children from the sidelines.

But the father of brawny French international rugby star Imanol Harinordoquy took family allegiance to a whole new level on Tuesday night when he walked onto the field to intervene in a dispute during a club game.

Lucien Harinordoquy walked onto the turf early in the Top 14 league game when his 31-year-old son, playing for Biarritz, clashed with a pair of Bayonne players. The player's father then attempted to punch one of them, Jean-Jo Marmouyet, in the face.

Before he was able to make contact with Marmouyet, Harinordoquy Sr. was tackled by Bayonne flyhalf Benjamin Boyet as seen in this video clip.

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"I tackled him because he was attacking one of my teammates. I put him to the ground and [Biarritz player] Benoit August told me to stop, because it was Imanol's father," Boyet told French sports daily L'Equipe on Wednesday.

'Intolerable'
Bayonne president Michel Cacouault condemned the attack.

"It is intolerable. The club will lodge a complaint against Mr Harinordoquy," Cacouault told the club's website.

Imanol Harinordoquy is known throughout the rugby world for his ferocity and unyielding style of play. He has played in three Rugby World Cup semi-finals, is 6ft 3in tall and weighs 240 lbs.

He has not commented on the incident.

Biarritz won the Basque derby 21-19.

Reuters and msnbc.com staff contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45489113/ns/world_news-europe/

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