Springbok Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will miss for the Springboks' fall fixtures.
South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for making contact with Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over Connacht.
The incident happened in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after striking back by striking the South African on the head area.
Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was reviewed by the television match official, who found no conclusive video evidence.
The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the game.
While the URC announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which declares:
"Any athlete must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, twisting or compressing the private areas."
The panel concluded that the event reached the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby rules for such an infringement.
Nonetheless, the player's suspension was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.
The forward and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.
Wessels will additionally be absent for the Bulls' URC games against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bordeaux and Saints.
Wessels has won ten international appearances for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.
The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to face Munster in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
