đŸ”— Share this article Springbok Player Wessels Receives Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab Wessels will miss for South Africa's autumn internationals. Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for touching Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province. This event took place 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 responding aggressively by hitting Wessels on the head area. Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the TMO, who concluded no conclusive video evidence. Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match. While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which declares: "Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas." The panel concluded that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an infringement. Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his good record. Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but currently, the ban will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team. Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints. The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer. Murphy, meanwhile, is available to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.
Wessels will miss for South Africa's autumn internationals. Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for touching Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province. This event took place 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 responding aggressively by hitting Wessels on the head area. Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was checked by the TMO, who concluded no conclusive video evidence. Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the match. While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was deemed to have breached law 9.27, which declares: "Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. Such behavior covers grabbing, pulling or squeezing the private areas." The panel concluded that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum suspension under international rugby regulations for such an infringement. Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the proceedings and his good record. Wessels and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but currently, the ban will prevent the young player out of the Springboks' autumn Tests against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team. Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints. The prop has won 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer. Murphy, meanwhile, is available to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.