South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has been handed a 12-week ban after gouging the eye of Wales flanker Alex Mann.
Etzebeth, the most-capped Springboks player in history, was shown a red card by referee Luc Ramos after the match officials reviewed footage of the incident in the final minutes of his side’s 73-0 win in Cardiff.
A disciplinary committee convened this week by the Six Nations, who operate the Quilter Nations Series, has now handed Etzebeth a long suspension that will rule him out of much of the remainder of the club campaign.
The committee determined that contact with the eye was intentional and set a mid-range entry point of 18 weeks/matches. Due to Etzebeth’s relatively clean record and other mitigating factors, it was reduced by six weeks.
Etzebeth has featured twice for the Sharks, his club side, this season. The Durban-based side open their Investec Champions Cup campaign against Antoine Dupont and Toulouse on Sunday. They are currently 14th in the United Rugby Championship having won just a single game.
The 34-year-old second row is in line to return to action in April.
South Africa’s next fixture is set to be against England in Johannesburg in early July 2026 on the first weekend of the inaugural Nations Championship.
Etzebeth’s red card was the third shown to a Springboks player in November, although Franco Mostert’s sending off against Italy was subsequently rescinded.
More follows…
