Etzebeth banned for 12 weeks over eye gouge

Eben Etzebeth, South Africa's double World Cup-winning second row, has been banned for 12 weeks for an eye gouge against Wales.

The 34-year-old was seen to make contact with the left eye of Alex Mann with his thumb in the Springboks' 73-0 win over Wales last Saturday.

Etzebeth had come on as a second-half substitute in Cardiff but was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute by French referee Luc Ramos.

It was his first red card in 141 internationals for South Africa and means he will miss matches for his club Sharks, who play in the United Rugby Championship and European Champions Cup, until the end of March 2026.

An independent disciplinary panel met on Tuesday, but took an extra 24 hours deliberation to decide on a sanction.

Led by Christopher Quinlan KC, the panel found that contact with the eye was intentional and a "mid-range" entry point of 18 weeks was appropriate. Mitigating factors including the player's previous record meant that was reduced to 12 weeks.

Etzebeth was the third South African forward to be shown a red card in four matches this autumn after Franco Mostert, against Italy, and Lood de Jaeger against France.

Mostert's red was later rescinded by a disciplinary panel and downgraded to a yellow.

World Rugby's sanctions for eye-gouging - described as "intentional contact with the eyes" - run from a ban ranging from 12 weeks at the low end, to a maximum of four years.

Bans for "reckless contact with the eyes" can range from six weeks to four years. Bans for "contact with the eye area" range from four weeks to one year.