A rugby player almost snapped his opponent in half with a horrific late tackle so bad even his teammates were furious with him

• Ryno Pieterse is facing a ban of up to 12 months for one of the worst rugby tackles you will ever see.
• Pieterse, who plays for Castres in the French league, jumped and smashed into Bordeaux's Maxime Lucu with his shoulder.
• The tackle was so bad that even Pieterse's teammates were seemingly appalled by his actions.

A rugby player in the French league is facing a ban of up to 12 months for one of the worst tackles you will ever see on a rugby pitch.

Bordeaux scrum-half Maxime Lucu had already kicked the ball down field when Castres' Ryno Pieterse jumped and smashed into him late with his shoulder during a Top 14 match on Saturday.

The South African was confronted by a number of Bordeaux players for the challenge, one of whom grabbed him by the neck and wrestled him to the ground.

After the ruckus was broken up, the 23-year-old was shown a straight red card by referee Romain Poite. Poite repeatedly shouted that it would be a red card during the post-tackle melee in an attempt to calm the Bordeaux players down.

As Pieterse walked off, his own teammates could be seen shaking their heads in disgust.

The ex-England player Andy Goode called Pieterse's challenge "mindless" while former rugby union referee Nigel Owens called for the Castres star to face a "very lengthy ban."

According the Irish Examiner, Pieterse will be summoned to a disciplinary hearing on September 29, where he will face a ban of up to a year.

Pieterse apologized to Lucu, who fortunately wasn't badly injured by the hit, on Instagram after the match, saying: "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."

The match ended 23-23.