Mandisa Williams banned from Women's World Cup

The captain was caught eye-gouging an opponent (©GettyImages).

The Women's World Cup has been a long awaited tournament which rugby fans have been anticipating to be great, but for South African captain Mandisa Williams her tournament has been halted after being banned for 16 weeks for eye-gouging.

According to Yahoo! News, the 29-year-old captain caused the offence in the Springboks' 26-3 defeat to Australia in their opening game of the 2014 tournament in France.

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Ban

Originally from east London the Border player has ruined her chances of creating history and becoming a leader for her country, for now she has to watch the rest of the tournament from the stands.

It is an awful and disgusting trait which has been hovering over rugby for the last couple of years, and the action taken against Williams has been dealt with accordingly as the forward should think about her actions.

But what needs to be said by head coach Denver Wannies is whether the former Sevens international should be captain after the tournament, as the chosen captain who leads the starting 15 should a reliable and passionate player who shouldn't lose their head over a game, let alone the first match of the World Cup.

But we are taking accounts from one side in this incident. The events leading up to the incident may be looked at more closely if the 29-year-old extends her right to appeal the ban, but it may not reduce the length of the sentence.

South Africa

Where the Springboks go from here is a problem, with their captain out and having faced a humiliating defeat to one of the favourites it is an uphill struggle from now on to bounce back for the remaining games.

But again this may be easier said than done, with South Africa in the same group as hosts France, who hammered Wales in their opening fixture 26-0, before South Africa take on bottom of the Pool Wales.

It is definitely not the end of the road for the African nation, as all teams in the competition make the knockout stages and they have the chance of finishing in a reasonable position.

The question to answer if whether Williams should remain as captain. The 29-year-old has been a key player for the Springboks and has helped them reach the 2014 World Cup, having displayed power and passion towards her role.

But after this awful display of unprofessionalism, on the biggest stage of her career, one thing for sure is that the next few weeks will feel like a lifetime for the loose forward.