South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has been banned for 12 weeks for an eye gouge on Wales flanker Alex Mann.

The 34-year-old was seen to make contact with the left eye of Mann with his thumb in the Springboks’ 73-0 win in Cardiff last Saturday.
Etzebeth came on as a second-half substitute but was shown a straight red card in the 79th minute – his first in 141 internationals – by French referee Luc Ramos.
An independent disciplinary panel, led by Christopher Quinlan KC, found that contact with the eye was intentional and a “mid-range” entry point of 18 weeks was appropriate.

Flashpoint: Eben Etz...