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

Springbok prop Wessels has received a ban of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' United Rugby Championship win over Connacht.

The incident took place in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with Connacht forward Josh Murphy being shown a temporary dismissal after striking back by hitting the South African on the head.

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

Wessels remained on the pitch until he was replaced in the second half of the game.

While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, the Springbok was found to have violated the code of conduct, which declares:

"Any athlete should not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers touching, pulling or squeezing the private areas."

Disciplinary officials determined that the incident met the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the minimum ban under international rugby rules for such an infringement.

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

The forward and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will prevent the young player out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against Japan, France, the Azzurri and Ireland.

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

Wessels has earned 10 caps for South Africa and was part of their tri-nations champion team over the summer.

Murphy, meanwhile, is available to face Munster in Saturday's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.