South African Forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Inappropriate Contact

Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine games for touching Josh Murphy's private parts during the Blue Bulls' URC victory over Connacht.

The incident happened in the early stages of the close contest against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by striking Wessels on the head area.

After the Connacht player reported the incident to the match official, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who found insufficient clear footage.

The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the later stages of the game.

Although the URC announced that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which states:

"A player must not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or squeezing the private areas."

The panel concluded that the event met the red card threshold and justified a 12-week suspension, the minimum ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.

However, the player's ban was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior prior to and at the hearing and his good record.

The forward and the Bulls are entitled to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, Les Bleus, the Azzurri and Ireland.

Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup games with Bègles and Saints.

The prop has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.

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