Overview
- The appeal hearing, which opened Wednesday behind closed doors in Angoulême, is scheduled to conclude with a verdict on April 3.
- The court dismissed a defense claim of irregularities in the juror list and then granted the victim’s request for a private hearing.
- The case stems from March 2017 after a Top 14 rugby match near Bordeaux, when the student says she later woke in a Mérignac hotel with injuries and a crutch inserted.
- Defense lawyers argue the sex was consensual and cite a 55‑second video and heavy drinking, with a toxicologist estimating 2.2 to 3 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, according to Sud Ouest.
- In late 2024, a Gironde court sentenced Denis Coulson and Loïck Jammes to 14 years and Rory Grice to 12 years, while teammates Chris Farrell and Dylan Hayes received lighter terms and did not appeal.