Springbok Player Wessels Handed Nine-Game Suspension for Genital Grab

South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has been suspended of nine games for making contact with opponent Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.

This event happened in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting Wessels on the head.

After Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the contact was examined by the television match official, who concluded no conclusive video evidence.

Wessels stayed on the field until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.

While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:

"A player should not engage in actions that is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes touching, pulling or compressing the genitals."

The panel were satisfied that the incident reached the level for dismissal and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under international rugby regulations for such an infringement.

However, the player's ban was reduced by 21 days because of his good conduct during the hearing and his good record.

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' autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and the Irish team.

He will also miss the Bulls' league matches against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.

The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad during the recent tournament.

The Connacht player, meanwhile, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in Saturday's domestic clash after being cleared.