A loose BULL rampaged around the pitch ahead of a rugby league clash between Catalans Dragons and St Helens on Friday night.
The extraordinary scenes unfolded at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan, France before the Dragons hosted the Saints in the Super League. The pumped-up animal charged at terrified Catalans players, who were unfortunately wearing attractive red shirts.
The bull was eventually tamed and it's believed no-one was injured in the incident. The Super League fixture went ahead as planned, with one Twitter user joking the bull should play at prop forward.
The remarkable incident started when the bull started charging at one of Catalans' players. The bull's handler was hurled to the turf and dragged several yards, as he desperately tried to keep the raging star under control. His efforts were fruitless.
The Catalans player in question managed to avoid the bull, who turned around and started running in the direction of the rest of the squad during their warm-up. Everyone on the pitch then started running in different directions to try to get to safety in the stands.
In the end, the bull was stopped... much to the delight of all those wearing red. Remarkably, the rampant pitch invader was one of three bulls inside the Stade Gilbert Brutus. Also, Catalans' home kit is actually white. It proved to be a regrettable kit change.
What do you make of this incident? Let us know in the comments below!
"The new warm up at Catalans Dragons has really been spiced up at home this season," joked the Sky Sports Rugby League Twitter account.
A fan also laughed: "Bradford Bulls look up for it!" Catalans have not actually played the Bulls since 2014 due to the latter club's fall down the rugby league pyramid.
The incident occurred after Catalans owner Bernard Guasch, who is head of a local meat processing company, arranged a bull parade to celebrate the quality of beef in the region. The club confirmed before the incident that "three prize-winning bulls, as well as two cows from the same Gascon breed, will perform a lap of honour during the warm-up".
Catalans will be hoping to mount a charge of their own this season, as they look to win a maiden Super League title. They came close to glory in 2021, when they won the League Leaders' Shield and reached the Grand Final. They lost 12-10 to St Helens.
Catalans finished fourth in the Super League table last time out, the position they also found themselves in before Friday night's game. Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves are level on points at the top of the table, while Hull KR sit two points back in third.
St Helens have been the Super League's most successful club since the competition was formed in 1996, winning 10 titles. Catalans will need to get the better of St Helens if they are to finally clinch the title, with the Saints winning the last four Grand Finals.
