South African Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Game Ban for Genital Grab

Springbok front-rower Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for grabbing opponent Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.

The altercation happened in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head area.

Following Murphy complained to the match official, the event was checked by the television match official, who concluded insufficient clear footage.

Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the second half of the match.

While the URC announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was deemed to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:

"A player must not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."

The panel were satisfied that the incident reached the level for dismissal and justified a three-month ban, the shortest ban under international rugby regulations for such an offence.

Nonetheless, the player's ban was reduced by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.

The forward and the Bulls have the right to challenge the decision, but currently, the suspension will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and Ireland.

Wessels will also miss the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bordeaux and Northampton.

Wessels has won ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team over the summer.

The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.