Bok prop's appeal dismissed by URC panel

In a moment that will go down as a travesty of justice, Springbok utility prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels’s appeal against a nine-match ban was dismissed by a Vodacom United Rugby Championship appeal panel on Wednesday afternoon.

Wessels did have one match removed on appeal, but will still miss the entire Springbok tour of Europe as well as the Vodacom Bulls’ two massive Investec Champions’ Cup matches against champions Bordeaux and runners-up Northampton and will only be able to play again on 20 December.

Both the Springboks and Bulls had pinned their hopes on the appeal, but it didn’t help even though Wessels was accused and convicted of an accusation of grabbing Connacht player Josh Murphy between the legs “and twisting” - something that was not evident on television replays and which neither the referee, two assistant referees or the TMO could see despite numerous replays.

DANGEROUS PRECEDENT NOW CREATED

For South Africans it is hard to see the result as anything but a travesty of justice, while there is a much bigger question that will need to be answered.

The result created a very unique precedent, where a player can now be convicted on the accusation of another player without conclusive evidence.

The can of worms that this result will open may come back to haunt rugby, while there were so many discrepancies that it is hard to see a normal court of law coming to a similar conclusion.

Instead, rugby uses a system of the “balance of probabilities” which tips the scales, especially when the onus in the disciplinary hearing is on the accused player to prove that the citing commissioner was wrong in bringing him before the panel.

The same citing commissioner, who claimed to be 20 metres away from the incident, where the stand closest was closed to the public, and then afterwards wrote his report after speaking to Murphy about the claim, but never spoke to Wessels.

APPEAL COMMITTEE REJECTED BULLS' ARGUMENTS

The appeal committee found all the Bulls' arguments unconvincing, and backed the three Welsh members who originally banned Wessels despite the lack of conclusive evidence.

They rejected the Bulls' plea for a “de novo” - or “do over” hearing - after the Bulls claimed that the first hearing was unjust. 

They also rejected the Bulls' claims that the original hearing’s findings were wrong. 

And in doing so they confirmed that in future a player can be convicted of a charge without any conclusive evidence despite previous similar cases being dismissed for precisely that point.

This time the Independent Appeal Hearing was  led by Roddy MacLeod (Scotland) as Chair alongside Achille Reali (Italy) & Robert Milligan KC (Scotland). 

“The Player and the Club requested a de novo hearing. However, having regard to the United Rugby Championship’s disciplinary rules, the panel considered that there were not exceptional circumstance to allow the request,” a URC statement read.

“Accordingly, the appeal proceeded on the basis that the Player and the Club wished to challenge the decision of the initial hearing and the length of the ban. 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.

“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. The Player will now miss eight games and will be free to play from December 20.

“Due to the unique nature of this case, once the final written report related to the Appeal Hearing has been submitted to the United Rugby Championship by the Chair, both reports for the initial hearing and the Appeal will made available for review.

NO FURTHER COMMENT

“In keeping with standard practice, the United Rugby Championship will not be making any comment on the Independent Disciplinary process and considers the matter closed.”

Wessels had hoped the appeal would also take into account that Murphy’s testimony was influenced by his own poor disciplinary record, having had two previous red cards and after being sent off for punching Wessels could have had a hefty ban. 

But they didn’t and in doing so affirmed that the original committee had acted correctly - in their view - in punishing something unseen, while excusing something seen (Murphy’s punches) - which are a red card offence.

Either way the matter is now settled, and Wessels will be branded a dirty player, even though he vehemently denied the allegation, and there was never enough evidence to prove the accusation correct.

Fixtures Jan-Hendrik Wessels is unavailable for:

• Glasgow Warriors v Vodacom Bulls, 24 October 2025 Vodacom URC

• South Africa v Japan, 1 November 2025, Castle Lager 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

• Vodacom Bulls v Lions, 29 November 2025 Vodacom URC / Wales v South Africa, 29 November

• Vodacom Bulls v Bordeaux Begles, 6 December 2025, Investec Champions Cup

• Northampton Saints v Vodacom Bulls, 14 December 2025, Investec Champions Cup