Jacques du Plessis cops 4-week ban

South African lock Jacques du Plessis was handed a season-ending ban on Wednesday for elbowing an opponent, dealing a major blow to Montpellier's Top 14 title hopes.

The 23-year-old was handed a four-week suspension for the incident which occurred in the game against La Rochelle on April 30.

Du Plessis will miss Saturday's playoff opener against defending champions Racing as well as the semi-final with Clermont should Montpellier get that far.

The former Bulls player was only yellow-carded for "dangerous play" in the 69th minute of the game against La Rochelle.