South African Forward Wessels Given Nine-Game Suspension for Inappropriate Contact

Springbok prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for touching Josh Murphy's genitals during the Bulls' URC victory over the Irish province.

The altercation occurred in the early stages of the close contest in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy being shown a 20-minute red card after responding aggressively by hitting the South African on the head area.

Following Murphy complained to referee Mike Adamson, the situation was reviewed by the TMO, who found insufficient clear footage.

Wessels remained on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the match.

Although the URC announced that Murphy's temporary sending-off was overturned by a governing body, the Springbok was found to have breached law 9.27, which specifies:

"Any athlete should not engage in actions that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the genitals."

Disciplinary officials concluded that the incident reached the red card threshold and warranted a three-month ban, the shortest ban under World Rugby rules for such an infringement.

Nonetheless, Wessels' suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct during the proceedings and his clean disciplinary history.

Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the suspension will prevent the 24-year-old out of the South African national team's autumn Tests against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, 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 games with Bègles and Northampton.

The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was included in their tri-nations champion squad during the recent tournament.

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