Sport24 reports that Springboks Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson are returning home from South Africa’s tour of Britain and Ireland having apparently returned positive samples for a banned stimulant following the Test against Ireland on November 6.
Six Nations Rugby Ltd – which administers the November internationals – informed the South African Rugby Union of the positive Tests on Sunday evening.
The pair have been provisionally suspended from all rugby and will return to South Africa on Monday.
The players were randomly drawn for testing by anti-doping officials following the Test at the Aviva Stadium.
The players have the right to request that their ‘B’ sample be tested.
Basson put in a very solid performance against the Welsh, proving particularly strong under the high ball and in chasing kicks upfield. He showed good pace and was tidy in all his work around the park. Ralapelle appeared as a substitute for Bok hooker Bismarck du Plessis.
SuperSport.com reported that the pair returned an adverse analytical finding for methylhexaneamine, a “non-specified stimulant” on the prohibited substances list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It is scheduled to be re-classified as a “specified stimulant” from 1 January 2011.
According to SuperSport.com, Bok coach Pieter de Villiers said: “When I informed the two players that they had been tested positive they were both extremely shocked and disappointed. The rest of the team were also gutted when they heard. I was informed of this at 2am this morning, and now we must follow the correct processes as laid down by the IRB.”
De Villiers said that his management team had been working tirelessly to ensure every possible avenue was investigated, including sending the team’s energy drinks for scientific testing.
– Ridge Correspondent