ETZEBETH OUT FOR 12 MATCHES AFTER EYE GOUGE
Veteran lock Eben Etzebeth has been slapped with a 12-match suspension after being found guilty of intentionally gouging the eye of Welsh flanker Alex Mann during the Springboks’ 73–0 rout of the Wales national rugby union team.
The independent disciplinary committee deemed the contact deliberate, originally recommending an 18-week ban, but reducing it to 12 due to Etzebeth’s previously clean record.
The incident happened in the dying moments of the match during a melee, when footage captured Etzebeth apparently placing his thumb in Mann's left eye after being summoned off the bench. A red card followed immediately after a TMO review.
Despite being the most-capped Springbok of all time, with 141 tests to his name and two Rugby World Cup titles, this marks Etzebeth’s first-ever red card in a 13-year international career and one of the harshest punishments handed down for eye-gouging in years.
Etzebeth protested his innocence by claiming he didn’t aim for the eye and acted in self-defence, and even had support from fellow players, including character testimony from New Zealand’s Ardie Savea. But the panel concluded he “knew what he was doing.”
The ban rules him out for his club side Sharks in both the Champions Cup and United Rugby Championship until the end of March 2026, though he remains eligible for South Africa national rugby union team selection, as their next test window isn’t until July.
Image credit: The Observer