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

South Africa front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for touching opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC victory over Connacht.

The altercation happened in the early stages of the Bulls' 28-27 win against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after reacting angrily by hitting the South African on the head area.

After the Connacht player complained to the match official, the contact was reviewed by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.

Wessels stayed on the field until he was replaced in the second half of the game.

Although the URC confirmed that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have violated the code of conduct, which specifies:

"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."

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

Nonetheless, the player's suspension was shortened by 21 days because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.

Wessels and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the young player out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and the Irish team.

He will also miss the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.

The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.

Murphy, meanwhile, is available to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.