Venter gets four week ban

The Lions received another setback with the news that their Springbok loose forward Ruan Venter will miss four matches after his red card against the Hollywoodbets Sharks last weekend in Durban.

Venter was sent off for a dangerous tackle that resulted in head contact with Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi, as he was coming down from taking a ball in the air, and was yellow carded in the process, with the bunker upgrading the card to a 20-minute red in the process.

“The Disciplinary process related to Ruan Venter Red Card in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round 9 game against Hollywoodbets Sharks on Saturday, January 3 has resulted in a four game suspension,” a statement from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship said on Wednesday.

“After an act of foul play by Lions player No 7 (Ruan Venter), referee Christopher Allison showed the Player a Red Card in the 38th minute of the game under Law 9.13 – A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.

“In the Player’s responses to the Judicial Officer overseeing the disciplinary process (Ms. Rhian Williams), he had accepted that he had committed an act of foul play which warranted a Red Card. Ms. Williams found that the incident met the Red Card threshold, with entry of mid-range warranting six weeks. The Player received two weeks mitigation due to his acceptance, remorse and exemplary conduct throughout the disciplinary process which results in a four game suspension.”

Venter will now miss the next two EPCR Challenge Cup games as well as the Lions’ game against Ospreys and the derby against the Vodacom Bulls at the end of January.

Fixtures Ruan Venter is unavailable for:

Lions v Lyon Olympique Universitaire, Saturday 10 January 2026, EPCR Challenge Cup

USA Perpignan v Lions, Saturday 17 January 2026, EPCR Challenge Cup

Ospreys v Lions, Friday 23 January 2026, Vodacom URC

Lions v Vodacom Bulls, Saturday 31 January, Vodacom URC