đź”— Share this article Springbok Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Receives Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact The player is ruled out for the Springboks' upcoming test matches. South Africa prop Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC victory over Connacht. The incident happened in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head. After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was checked by the television match official, who determined insufficient clear footage. The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the match. Although the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies: "Any athlete must not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas." Disciplinary officials determined that the contact met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an offence. However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history. Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team. Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints. The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament. The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.
The player is ruled out for the Springboks' upcoming test matches. South Africa prop Wessels has been suspended of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC victory over Connacht. The incident happened in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with opposing player Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head. After the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was checked by the television match official, who determined insufficient clear footage. The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the match. Although the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was overturned by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies: "Any athlete must not do anything that is against the principles of fair play. This includes touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas." Disciplinary officials determined that the contact met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum suspension under international rugby rules for such an offence. However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history. Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to appeal, but currently, the ban will rule the young player out of the South African national team's fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team. Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Warriors, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints. The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion team during the recent tournament. The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being exonerated.