Springbok Forward Wessels Handed Nine-Match Suspension for Genital Grab

South Africa prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over Connacht.

This event took place in the early stages of the narrow victory against Connacht on Friday, with opposing player Josh Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after striking back by striking the South African on the head.

After Murphy reported the incident to the match official, the situation was examined by the TMO, who concluded no definitive proof.

The Bulls player stayed on the pitch until he was substituted in the second half of the match.

Although the URC announced that the Irish player's temporary sending-off was withdrawn by a disciplinary panel, Wessels was found to have violated law 9.27, which states:

"A player should not engage in actions that is against the principles of fair play. Such behavior covers grabbing, twisting or squeezing the private areas."

The panel were satisfied that the incident met the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest ban under World Rugby regulations for such an offence.

Nonetheless, Wessels' ban was shortened by three weeks because of his cooperative behavior during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.

Wessels and the Bulls are entitled 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.

He will additionally be absent for the his club's league matches against Glasgow, the Lions and the Sharks, as well as Investec Champions Cup fixtures with Bordeaux and Saints.

The prop has earned ten international appearances for South Africa and was part of their Rugby Championship-winning team during the recent tournament.

The Connacht player, in contrast, is eligible to face Munster in this weekend's domestic clash after being exonerated.