Jasper Wiese to miss start of Rugby Championship after receiving four-game suspension

Wiese was sent off midway through the first half at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after what seemed like a fairly innocuous scuffle with Italy loosehead Danilo Fischetti was sent upstairs, where it was determined that the Bok No 8 had head-butted the prop.

Referee Andrew Brace reviewed the incident along with his officiating team and opted against issuing a 20-minute red card, instead showing a full red, meaning South Africa had to play the remainder of the match with 14 men.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Wiese had been suspended for four matches following a World Rugby disciplinary hearing.

The ban will rule him out of Saturday's match against Georgia in Nelspruit, as well as the first three Rugby Championship Tests against Australia in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively, and New Zealand in Auckland.

He will be free to play the second All Blacks Test in Wellington, as well as the two matches against Argentina in Durban and London.

In a statement confirming the suspension, World Rugby stated that Wiese "accepted that foul play had occurred but did not accept that the offence warranted a red card."

However, the Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Rhian Willians (Wales), joined by former international Match Officials Donal Courtney (Ireland) and Valeriu Tomu (Romania) disagreed.

"The Committee considered the appropriate entry point for the offending and decided that the offence warranted a low-end entry point of six matches. Having considered submissions as regards mitigation, the Committee decided on a final sanction of four matches," the statement added.

Wiese was also banned for six games in May of last year following his final match for Leicester Tigers after driving a player into the ground head first at a ruck, causing him to miss a large part of the Bok season.