South African Forward Wessels Given Nine-Game Ban for Inappropriate Contact

Springbok prop Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Blue Bulls' URC win over Connacht.

This event happened in the early stages of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after striking back by hitting the South African on the head area.

After Murphy complained to the match official, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.

Wessels stayed on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the match.

Although the URC confirmed that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:

"Any athlete must not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the genitals."

The panel were satisfied that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under international rugby regulations for such an violation.

Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.

The forward and the Bulls are entitled to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and the Irish team.

He will also miss the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Northampton.

Wessels has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.

The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.