Eben Etzebeth banned 12 matches for eye-gouge

South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has been handed a 12-match suspension on Thursday for an eye-gouging incident involving Wales flanker Alex Mann, ruling him out until April.

The most capped Springbok in history was shown a straight red card during South Africa’s 73-0 rout of Wales in Cardiff last Saturday, drawing widespread condemnation. Even his coach, Rassie Erasmus, admitted that “it did not look good.”

Late in the game, during a confrontation between the two players, Etzebeth was seen making contact with Mann’s eye.

He insisted he was defending himself. “I did not, at any stage, aim for his eyes or intend to make contact with his eye,” Etzebeth was quoted as saying in the judgment released by the independent disciplinary committee.

The committee, chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC and including former England internationals Leon Lloyd and Becky Essex, concluded that the act was intentional and warranted a mid-range entry point of 18 matches on the offences scale.

In an official statement, the disciplinary body stated that, “South Africa number 19, Eben Etzebeth, appeared before an independent Disciplinary Committee via video link, having received a red card for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.12 in the match between South Africa and Wales on Saturday, 22 November 2025,” the disciplinary body said.

“Having considered the player’s evidence and other material, and reviewed the footage, the Disciplinary Committee has determined that contact with the eye was intentional. A mid-range entry point of eighteen matches was therefore deemed appropriate.”

Etzebeth will miss the next 12 games for his Durban-based United Rugby Championship franchise, the Sharks, and will be available for selection again from April.