South African Player Jan-Hendrik Wessels Given Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab

Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship victory over the Irish province.

The incident happened in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by hitting Wessels on the head.

Following Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the situation was reviewed by the TMO, who concluded insufficient clear footage.

The Bulls player stayed on the field until he was replaced in the later stages of the game.

Although the URC confirmed that Murphy's 20-minute red card was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have breached law 9.27, which states:

"Any athlete must not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."

Disciplinary officials concluded that the contact met the red card threshold and justified a three-month ban, the minimum ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.

Nonetheless, the player's suspension was reduced by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his good record.

Wessels and the Pretoria-based team are entitled to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against Japan, France, Italy and the Irish team.

He will additionally be absent for the Bulls' league matches against Glasgow, the Emirates Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Northampton.

The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was included in their Rugby Championship-winning squad over the summer.

The Connacht player, meanwhile, is available to play against the Irish rivals in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.