French jury upholds jail terms for three rugby players over gang rapeFormer Irish rugby player Denis Coulson (L) in court before his trial for rape in Bordeaux in 2024ANGOULêME (FRANCE) - A French court on Saturday upheld the prison sentences of up to 14 years imposed on three former rugby players who had appealed their convictions for raping a student in 2017. The jail terms were handed down after a trial in the French city of Bordeaux in late 2024 over the rape of a 20-year-old student during a drunken night out in 2017. The lawyers for the three said they will appeal to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the French judicial system. Jammes's lawyer Denis Dreyfus said they had been punished for not having confessed. Farrell had been sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended, and Hayes received a two-year suspended term.

Source: Bangkok Post April 04, 2026 16:48 UTC