Bulls to appeal ‘kangaroo court’ ruling after Jan-Hendrik Wessels' nine-match ban

The Bulls will appeal the massive nine-match suspension handed to their forward, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who has been found guilty by what is shaping up to be a kangaroo court and an embarrassing bout of publicity for the United Rugby Championship (URC).

Since the news about Wessels was leaked earlier this week, there have been precious few facts given to the media and, consequently, to the public. We don’t know vital information, such as whether Wessels appeared at the hearing, and if so, whether he pleaded guilty or not. We don’t know if new evidence was produced to sink Wessels.

A source at the Bulls confirmed that an appeal had been lodged. It is further understood that no additional television material has been added to what the referee and TMO saw during the Bulls vs Connacht match. When the ruckus erupted in the 18th minute, match officials watched the footage repeatedly but could find no evidence that Wessels grabbed Connacht flanker Josh Murphy in the genitals.

Murphy punched Wessels at a ruck, and when shown a red card, he remonstrated with the referee that he had been assaulted in the groin area. A subsequent URC hearing has since changed Murphy’s red card to a yellow, and he is free to play for Connacht this weekend. Wessels, despite there being no proof that we know of, has been suspended for the rest of the year and will miss out on the Springboks’ five-match tour of Europe, plus some crucial Bulls derby matches against South African opposition. He was also due to play for the Bulls on Friday night against the Warriors.

To be fair to the URC, the disciplinary hearings are not conducted by the tournament itself. They are conducted by independent panels who are guided by the laws set out by World Rugby and take into account precedents set by incidents across the sport. But perhaps what they can do is pressure these panels to be more professional in how they disclose information about what transpired in the hearings.

For all we know, Wessels is guilty as sin and maybe even confessed. But the hearing, in their statement, did their best not to tell us what happened. A lack of information leads to speculation.

On Thursday, 24 hours after the hearing took place and at odds with usual protocols, the URC released a statement based on what the panel had given them. It said: “The Disciplinary process related to Jan-Hendrik Wessels’ citing in the United Rugby Championship Round 4 game against Connacht Rugby on Friday, October 17 has resulted in a nine-game suspension.

“The Citing Commissioner in charge reported Bulls player No 2 (Jan-Hendrik Wessels), for an act of foul play in the 18th minute under Law 9.27 – A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship. This includes grabbing, twisting, or squeezing the genitals.”

The hearing was conducted by the Welsh trio of Declan Goodwin (Chair), Simon Thomas, and Leah Thomas. The statement said they were “satisfied that an act of foul play had occurred and found the incident met the Red Card threshold.”

That is it.