A one-week reduction of his sentence — that’s what the Bulls’ Jan-Hendrik Wessels received after appealing the nine-week suspension he was handed for allegedly grabbing a Connacht player in the groin area, after being found guilty by an independent disciplinary committee.
He was cited and banned last week and will subsequently miss the Springboks’ year-end tour, as well as a couple of United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup matches for his franchise.
Wessels’ appeal was heard on Wednesday by a panel consisting of Roddy MacLeod (Scotland) as chair, Achille Reali (Italy), and Robert Milligan KC (Scotland). The player and the Bulls had requested a de novo hearing — looking to start the process from the beginning.
However, in line with the URC’s disciplinary rules, the panel determined that there were no exceptional circumstances to allow such a request.
That meant the appeal proceeded on the basis that the utility front rower and his club were challenging the nine-week ban imposed during the initial hearing.
“The basis of such an appeal requires an appellant to demonstrate that the first-instance disciplinary panel erred in its findings. After reviewing the grounds of appeal and hearing from the player and his club, the appeal committee dismissed the substantive grounds of appeal but reduced the ban by one week,” a statement from the URC read.
“The panel did so on the basis that the initial reduction from the low-end entry point (of 12 weeks) did not take into account an aspect of the player’s conduct in the context of the case. Accordingly, the appeal committee determined that four weeks should be deducted from the headline entry suspension.”
Wessels will now miss eight games and will be eligible to play again on 20 December 2025.
The URC confirmed that no further comments will be made regarding the independent disciplinary process, and the matter is now considered closed.
Fixtures Wessels is unavailable for:
Glasgow Warriors v Bulls, 24 October 2025
South Africa v Japan, 1 November 2025, Outgoing Tour
France v South Africa, 8 November 2025, Quilter Nations Series
Italy v South Africa, 15 November 2025, Quilter Nations Series
Ireland v South Africa, 22 November 2025, Quilter Nations Series
Bulls v Lions, 29 November 2025 URC / Wales v South Africa, 29 November
Bulls v Bordeaux Begles, 6 December 2025, Champions Cup
Northampton Saints v Bulls, 14 December 2025, Champions Cup
