The incident occurred as the Bulls defeated Connacht in the United Rugby Championship last Friday, when home player Josh Murphy received a 20-minute red card after he struck Wessels repeatedly in the head.
Murphy claimed it was in retaliation for the grab, which was not spotted by the referee team, including the Television Match Official.
Wessels was cited, though, and a disciplinary panel this week imposed the nine-game sanction, saying they were "satisfied an act of foul-play has occured", which rules him out of the Springboks’ five-match Autumn International tour.
The panel has yet to reveal the reasons behind their judgment, but it is understood Wessels did not admit the offence, nor was any further video evidence offered. For many, it is therefore difficult to see on what basis he was found guilty.
Adding salt to the perceived wound, Murphy’s red card was rescinded by the same panel despite there being clear evidence of his wrongdoing.
The Bulls will appeal the judgment and likely stand a good chance if the panel has simply taken Murphy’s word over Wessels’, as appears to be the case until further information is released.
But it has already left a sour taste for South Africans, not least Erasmus.
“It just got tougher! We now have to beat them on the field and in the boardrooms,” he said in a post on X.
With Wessels denying the incident, did he perhaps grab that body part unintentionally? In a 2013 Test between the Springboks and Samoa, fullback for the latter James So’oialo was cited for the same thing but was not sanctioned, as it was ruled an accidental act.
Until the appeal process is complete, we will not hear Wessels’ side of the story, so questions remain about how this panel reached such a harsh verdict against one player with no video evidence, while letting off another for whom there was plenty.
“The question is a simple one. The referee saw nothing, the Television Match Official saw nothing, so what did the Welsh judiciary see to convict and sentence Bulls utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels?” writes former Springbok media manager and journalist Mark Keohane on keo.co.za.
“Surely, a decision can only be reached on what was seen and not what one player says and the other opposes? The judicial process at the URC has been inconsistent, at best, and a shocker at worst.
“None has quite reached this level, with a player sent to the gallows on the basis of an allegation from an opposing player that cannot be confirmed through any visual evidence.
“This is a low point in the league’s history, and it sets a precedent for any allegation screamed from a player during any game.”
Brenden Nel, another South African journalist, wrote on X: “I'm gobsmacked by the Wessels ban. No TV evidence but a judiciary decides he is banned on an allegation that cannot be proven? That's a very dangerous can of worms for URC to open …”
It must be stated that Murphy believes he was grabbed below the belt intentionally, as he told referee Mike Adamson immediately after the incident.
“He grabbed me here,” he told the referee, gesturing towards the area. “Sir, look at it back, he grabbed me here. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”
As the saying goes, “There are three sides to every story, your side, my side, and the truth.”
Until the full judgment of the disciplinary panel is released, how they reached their decisions with regards the two players remains unknown, but the incident only adds to a feeling of victimhood among South African rugby that stretches from the very top of the game to its vocal fanbase.