Top 14
Pierre relieved after surviving machete attack
ESPN Staff
July 25, 2014
Julien Pierre is counting his blessings after the machete attack © Getty Images
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The three Clermont Auvergne players who were on the victims of a machete attack last weekend will sit out the start of the Top 14 season but are also speaking of how lucky they were to avoid serious injury.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning when Aurelien Rougerie, Julien Pierre and Benjamin Kayser were leaving a nightclub. They were set upon by a gang of 10 men, of which two have been charged, who were brandishing machetes and knives. The trio were hospitalised and Rougerie and Kayser were released soon after but Pierre needed surgery on cuts sustained to his hip.

For Pierre, he was thankful the damage was not more severe. "I was lucky that the blade did not hit anything else. I was lucky to have team-mates who had the nerve to help me and support me at the time. This is a bad experience, a story we tell our children."

The players are now reunited with their team-mates at the pre-season camp in Falgos and Kayser is feeling better for having spent time with his family before returning. "It was essential to debrief with the guys, to feel together," Kayser said. "This is the best way to move on to something else because we all want to turn the page."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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