South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth became the third Springbok to be shown a red card of the Quilter Nations Series as he was dismissed with just seconds remaining of his side’s 73-0 win over Wales at the Principality Stadium.
The Bok legend was shown a straight red card for putting his thumb in the eye of Wales’ Alex Mann during a fracas in the 79th minute.
Referee Luc Ramos had no choice but to brandish a red card in the double World Cup winner’s 141st Test match.
Etzebeth follows in the footsteps of fellow locks Lood de Jager and Franco Mostert, who have both received red cards this series.
Gouging carries a lengthy ban in rugby, with the low-end entry point being 12 weeks, but cases have also resulted in over 24-week bans. Extreme cases have seen players banned for two years.
Etzebeth will appear before a disciplinary panel this week, but a lengthy ban is surely incoming for the 34-year-old.
Having been named on the bench in Cardiff, the lock was part of the eight-man replacement change made by Rassie Erasmus on 51 minutes of the match, but managed to get in on the scoring with a try just minutes before his red card. It was actually a record-breaking try, as it broke England’s record for the most points scored against Wales at their home ground.
The match finished minutes after the red card incident, and the lock took to the field to shake hands with the opposition.
Words were exchanged between Etzebeth and the Welsh flanker, who was clearly upset by what had happened, and continued to shout something as the Bok walked away.
It is over six months before South Africa play again, which means a ban may not affect Etzebeth’s international career unless he is slapped with a punishment of over 30 weeks. His club side, the Sharks, however, will suffer more heavily, with contests against European giants Toulouse and Saracens coming over the next two weeks in the Investec Champions Cup.
Watch the incident here:
Completely unnecessary.
Brain-less from Eben Etzebeth. A long ban loading.#WALvRSA pic.twitter.com/VWFwTt9tAD
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) November 29, 2025
