ormer Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze’s extraordinary 11-year suspension for his role in a urine-swapping anti-doping scandal is one of the longest bans ever handed out in rugby.
It eclipses the 12-week suspension handed to Eben Etzebeth for making intentional contact with the eye of Wales flanker Alex Mann during last autumn’s Autumn Nations Series and serves as a reminder that the sport has delivered some truly extraordinary punishments over the years.
Yet even Sharikadze’s sanction doesn’t top the list. From multi-year suspensions to lifetime bans, these are the longest punishments ever imposed on players in rugby history.
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10 Johan Le Roux (18 months)
A moment of recklessness in 1994 effectively brought Johan Le Roux’s international career to an end. During a Test in Wellington, the Springbok prop stunned spectators by biting the ear of All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick.
Rugby authorities reacted quickly, issuing Le Roux with an 18-month suspension. The incident was widely condemned, with South African rugby officials describing it as an embarrassment to the nation.
1994 New Zealand vs South Africa
Sean Fitzpatrick lost a chunk of his cauliflower ear to Springbok Johan Le Roux at Athletic Park on July 23 pic.twitter.com/zjv4p7e1i8— APSM Rugby Channel 
(@ApsmRugby) May 24, 2024
9 Richard Nones (2 years)
One of the most controversial suspensions in professional rugby came in 1999. Colomiers prop Richard Nones received a two-year ban for eye gouging during a fiery Heineken Cup clash with Pontypridd, making him the only professional player to receive the maximum sanction for the offence.
An appeal failed after a lengthy hearing in Edinburgh. Officials used the case as a warning to players across the sport, and despite criticism from many in France, the punishment remained in place as one of rugby’s toughest penalties for on-field violence.
8 Julien Caminati (33 months)
Julien Caminati’s disciplinary record began to take shape at a young age. At 18, the French winger was suspended for three years after spitting at a referee during a fourth-division fixture. The ban was later reduced to 26 months following his transfer to Nice.
Further issues followed throughout his career. While playing for Brive, he received an additional six-month suspension for a doping violation. He also served shorter bans for punching an opponent and for an offence that resulted in a red card.
Il sera du retour au Stade des Alpes vendredi avec Montauban. Il y a 7 ans, Julien Caminati avait marqué cet essai, en puissance, face au Stade Toulousain#AllezFCG #TBT #JeudiJadis #FCGUSM pic.twitter.com/piMB4H2EcW— FC Grenoble Rugby #AllezFCG (@FCGrugby) September 17, 2020
7 Merab Sharikadze (11 years)
Former Georgia captain Merab Sharikadze received one of the longest bans in rugby history in 2026 after being suspended for 11 years following World Rugby’s biggest-ever anti-doping investigation.
The investigation, known as Operation Obsidian, found that Sharikadze had provided his own “clean” urine samples for teammates to use during anti-doping tests between 2022 and 2023. DNA analysis confirmed the samples had been substituted.
World Rugby found no evidence that the scheme was designed to conceal performance-enhancing drugs, but ruled it was intended to hide the use of banned recreational substances, including cannabis and tramadol. As captain and a central figure in the sample-swapping operation, Sharikadze received the harshest punishment of anyone involved.
The former centre, who won more than 100 caps and famously captained Georgia to victory over Wales in Cardiff in 2022, had already retired from rugby and moved into MMA when the sanction was announced. The 11-year ban applies to all rugby activities.
6= Bruno Andres Doglioli (3 years)
In 2016, Argentinian-born Bruno Andres Doglioli became the subject of one of Italian rugby’s most shocking disciplinary cases. During a club match, he struck referee Maria Beatrice Benvenuti with a late and forceful hit from behind, causing whiplash injuries.
Although the incident initially resulted in only a yellow card, the fallout was far more severe. Doglioli was suspended by his club before receiving a three-year ban from all competitive sport. It was the harshest rugby-related sanction handed down in Italy for more than two decades.
6= Dean Richards (3 years)
Dean Richards was one of the central figures in rugby’s infamous Bloodgate scandal. During Harlequins’ 2009 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster, winger Tom Williams used a fake blood capsule to create the appearance of an injury, allowing a tactical substitution.
Once the deception was exposed, severe punishments followed. Richards, Williams and the club physiotherapist all received bans, with the former Harlequins coach suspended for three years. The scandal remains one of the most damaging episodes in professional rugby history.
