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South African Eben Etzebeth given minimum ban length for eye gouging incident vs Wales
Published 16:39 4 Dec 2025 GMT
Updated 16:39 4 Dec 2025 GMT
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South Africa player Eben Etzebeth has been given the minimum 12-week punishment after an eye-gouging incident on Alex Mann against Wales on Saturday.
Etzebeth was shown a straight red by Luc Ramos with only two minutes left to play at the Principality Stadium, with replays showing Etzebeth’s thumb clearly made contact with Mann’s eye.
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that the incident ‘didn’t look good’ and deserved a red, while others have sprung to Etzebeth’s defence by saying he was provoked by an earlier similar eye-gouge incident from Mann himself.
World Rugby guidelines detail that the low-end point for intentional contact with an opponent’s eyes is 12 weeks, while the top-end is 24 weeks. However, bans for the most serious eye gouging offences can be up to your years.
"The independent Disciplinary Committee was chaired by Christopher Quinlan KC, joined by former international players Leon Lloyd (England) and Becky Essex (England).
"Some mitigating factors, including the Player’s previous record, were applied by the Committee reducing the eighteen week entry point by six weeks to twelve weeks/matches.
"The suspension will cover the following matches;
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that the incident ‘didn’t look good’ and deserved a red, while others have sprung to Etzebeth’s defence by saying he was provoked by an earlier similar eye-gouge incident from Mann himself.
