South African Forward Wessels Given Nine-Match Ban for Inappropriate Contact

Springbok prop Wessels faces a suspension of nine matches for grabbing Josh Murphy's private parts during the Bulls' URC win over the Irish province.

This event took place in the 18th minute of the narrow victory in Galway on Friday, with Connacht forward Murphy receiving a temporary dismissal after reacting angrily by hitting Wessels on the head.

Following Murphy reported the incident to referee Mike Adamson, the contact was checked by the TMO, who concluded no definitive proof.

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

While the United Rugby Championship announced that the Irish player's 20-minute red card was rescinded by a governing body, Wessels was found to have breached the code of conduct, which specifies:

"Any athlete must not do anything that is contrary to the principles of fair play. This includes grabbing, pulling or compressing the private areas."

The panel were satisfied that the contact reached the red card threshold and warranted a 12-week suspension, the shortest suspension under World Rugby rules for such an offence.

However, the player's suspension was shortened by three weeks because of his good conduct during the hearing and his clean disciplinary history.

Wessels and the Pretoria-based team have the right to challenge the decision, but as it stands, the ban will rule the 24-year-old out of the Springboks' fall internationals against the Brave Blossoms, Les Bleus, Italy and Ireland.

He will additionally be absent for the his club's URC games against Warriors, the Emirates Lions and the Sharks, as well as European cup fixtures with Bègles and Northampton.

The prop has won 10 caps for the Springboks and was part of their tri-nations champion team over the summer.

Murphy, in contrast, is available to play against the Irish rivals in this weekend's inter-provincial derby after being exonerated.