South African Player Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab

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

The incident happened in the 18th minute of the close contest in Galway on last Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by striking the South African on the head.

Following the Connacht player reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the event was reviewed by the television match official, who determined no definitive proof.

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

While the United Rugby Championship announced that Murphy's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have breached the code of conduct, which states:

"A player must not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, twisting or compressing the genitals."

The panel concluded that the incident reached the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an infringement.

Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was shortened by 21 days because of his good conduct during the hearing and his good record.

Wessels and the Bulls have the right to appeal, but as it stands, the suspension will rule the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, France, Italy and the Irish team.

Wessels will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Glasgow, the Lions and the Cell C Sharks, as well as European cup games with Bègles and Northampton.

Wessels has earned ten international appearances for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion squad over the summer.

The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to face the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being cleared.