Springbok Forward Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab
The player will miss for South Africa's fall fixtures.
South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.
The incident happened in the 18th minute of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head area.
Following Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.
Wessels remained on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.
Although the URC announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was overturned by a governing body, Wessels was deemed to have violated law 9.27, which declares:
"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, twisting or compressing the private areas."
Disciplinary officials concluded that the incident met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum ban under World Rugby rules for such an violation.
However, the player's ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct prior to and at the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.
Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and Ireland.
Wessels will also miss the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.
The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.
Murphy, in contrast, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.
