South African Player Wessels Handed Nine-Match Ban for Genital Grab

Springbok front-rower Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over Connacht.

The incident took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy receiving a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by striking Wessels on the head area.

After Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was reviewed by the TMO, who determined insufficient clear footage.

The Bulls player remained on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match.

While the United Rugby Championship confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was rescinded by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was deemed to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:

"A player should not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the private areas."

The panel determined that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the shortest suspension under World Rugby rules for such an offence.

However, Wessels' ban was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.

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

He will also miss the his club's league matches 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 included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.

The Connacht player, in contrast, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.