You've seen the high tackles, the eye gouging, the fighting and the shoulder charge bans in rugby, but what about the truly peculiar ones?
We take a look at some of the huge bans that have been dished out for the rather strange incidents on the rugby pitch.
Nico Lee - emptying nose on opposing player's face
In a Pro14 match in 2019, Cheetahs centre Lee received a 13-week ban for 'emptying the contents of his nose on an opposing player'.
A Connacht player was pinned down at the bottom of the ruck, and Lee was kneeling over him from the other side of the breakdown. Lee angles his head towards the player and clears his nose on the Connacht man's face.
At a disciplinary hearing in Cardiff, Lee accepted what he did. He made an apology video on the Cheetahs' Twitter account, saying "that's not the type of person or player I am."
John Hopoate - inserting his fingers up three player's bums
In 2001, rugby league bad boy Hopoate inserted his fingers into the bums of three North Queensland Cowboys players, and received the longest ban in NRL history - 45 weeks.
Despite this, Hopoate says he has no regrets, and has even printed custom-made t-shirts commemorating his efforts. Speaking to ANZ Sports Scene, he said, "You can either embrace it and make it a joke, or you'll be getting angry your whole life because people will be hammering you about it. You just need to embrace it."
Hopoate, now 48, was banned from rugby league for ten years in 2018 after he punched opposition players at a local rugby match.
Chris Ashton - Biting an opponent
The England international was banned for 13 weeks for biting the arm of Northampton prop Alex Waller in 2016. He was actually charged with biting him twice in one minute but one of the charges was thrown out. Ashton denied both counts but was found guilty on the one.
“What I am hearing is absolutely not the Chris Ashton I know,” said the Saracens chairman at the time, Nigel Wray. “I very much hope that Chris is not forced out of English rugby because he is a very well-liked and respected member of our family, one of the hardest workers in the game. I am not a lawyer, but if this were a legal matter the case would not come to court.”
Joe Marler - grabbing Alun Wyn Jones by the genitals
Perhaps one of the more well known citings in the bizarre category.
During the 2020 Six Nations, in a match between England and Wales, Marler squeezed Alun Wyn Jones by the genitals. The popular England man received a 10-week ban and the internet was divided over the incident.
However, Marler admitted he was in the wrong for grabbing AWJ, but says he was only trying to have a laugh.
"What I did was inappropriate and wrong on that stage. The people that came out and compared it to sexual assault in the workplace completely blew my mind but I did stop for a second and take on their opinions and how they were made to feel about it all."
"They are completely entitled to their opinion and I respect that. However, I didn’t sexually assault someone in the workplace. I tickled someone's k**b, as a laugh, who I'd known for several years now, on the wrong stage, really."
Mark Meafua - striking the referee
In an under 19 rugby match in Australia, Meafua received a red card for elbowing an opponent. He reacted abrasively, launching his hand at the throat of the young referee. The player was subsequently banned for ten years.
The crowd reacted in disgust, as did the commentary team, Meafua appeared washed with fury as he walked away. The player received a ten year ban for the incident.
Meafua was later arrested at home on assault charges and his club spoke on his actions.
"It is unacceptable to verbally or physically abuse a referee. The sanctions show that if you undertake that behaviour, you will be out of the game for a serious amount of time."
“But, as well as ensuring Nik’s (referee) well being, the union has an obligation to provide Mark with the appropriate support. Within that 10 years, the referee’s association and Maitland club will work the young man to assist in some rehabilitation."
Trevor Brennan - punching a fan
Brennan's son recently went viral on TikTok , but his dad had his fair share of headlines. Brennan was an Ireland international, and got embroiled in trouble after punching an Ulster fan while playing for Toulouse in 2007. He was handed a lifetime ban.
There was a bit of banter going on between the Ulster fan and Brennan, and it seemed to be playful to begin with. Then, the 6'5" second-row jumped into the stands and hit the supporter 'six or seven times' according to an eyewitness. The fan was covered in blood.
Brennan actually went on to play in the game, and came on as a substitute, before being sinbinned for fighting Justin Harrison of Ulster.
The incident saw him receive a lifetime ban from rugby, but even years after the incident, he still believes the ban was too harsh.
"Of course I have regrets about what happened that day, I reacted without thinking of the consequences, but the ERC were really harsh to hand me down a lifetime ban,”
“Luke Fitzgerald (the Leinster and Ireland player) nearly got his eye gouged out by Schalk Burger (of South Africa) while playing for the Lions team — and that guy only got eight weeks."
Johan le Roux - biting Sean Fitzpatrick's ear
The year is 1994, arguably rugby's most iconic clash is well underway in a heated series - South Africa v New Zealand. In the spur of the moment, Johan le Roux decided to bite part of Sean Fitzpatrick's ear off .
Fitzpatrick had a reputation for playing the wind-up merchant, and le Roux was his target for this game. Fitzpatrick caught le Roux with his shoulder, got him to the ground and prevented him from getting to his feet, then the South African sunk his teeth into the ear of Fitzpatrick, taking out a chunk of it.
The referee didn't spot the incident so play went on without anyone being carded. However, with the TV footage and lack of ear on Fitzpatrick, le Roux's fate was all but sealed.
He lost out on the 1995 World Cup as a result of his 19 month ban, which is one of the longest in rugby history. He was interviewed in the weeks after the incident and said that if he'd known it would be an 18 month ban then he "probably should have torn it off."
"Then at least I could have said: 'Look, I've returned to South Africa with a guy's ear'".
Brendan Venter - eating biscuits
The former Saracens boss went viral back in 2010 for 'biscuit gate'.
Venter was attending an RFU hearing at Twickenham where he would learn his fate after some touchline misbehaviour earlier in the season. He'd been handed a 14-week suspension. He ate a biscuit during the hearing, which led to him being excluded from attending the Premiership final, which his team were playing in.
Saracens would go on to lose their first Premiership final to Leicester. Venter missed the game despite appealing 'biscuitgate'. Speaking to the Mirror, he explained that he meant no offense by eating the biscuit.
"The whole biscuit thing was an accident," he said. "We had been sent outside to await the verdict. There was a plate of biscuits and I took one."
"As I took my first bite they called us back in. It was like 'come in, come in, come in, they're calling you'."
"I had nowhere to throw the biscuit. I couldn't drop it on the carpet. So I walked in with it and took my last bite inside the room."
"I didn't go in and deliberately eat the biscuit in front of them. If that is how it was seen then honestly it was not my intention."
Read next:
Rugby star gets eight-match ban after three sent off and injured player confronted
Referee Luke Pearce admits regret and apologises to Billy Vunipola for incident
Video of rugby fan urinating from top of stadium as England play Australia watched by over 1 million
Imposter at Top14 rugby match fools everyone and leaves 25million viewers in stitches
'Best rugby try of the year' watched by 11million people after perfect kick-off
