Rugby

South Africa outhalf Elton Jantjies given four-year ban after failed drugs test

The 33-year-old, who played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol

South Africa's Elton Jantjies. Photograph: Ashley Western/MB Media/Getty

Thu Jan 18 2024 - 14:48

South Africa outhalf Elton Jantjies has been given a four-year ban following a positive drugs test.

In June 2023, Jantjies tested positive for banned substance Clenbuterol, which can help with weight loss and increase muscle mass.

The 33-year-old was provisionally suspended and so missed out on selection for the World Cup in France, where the Springboks successfully defended their title.

Jantjies had protested his innocence to the adverse finding, but on Thursday the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) confirmed no hearing into his case had been held.

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Jantjies has been capped 46 times and was part of the squad which won the 2019 Rugby World Cup, beating England in the final in Japan.

At the time of sanction, Jantjies vowed to prove his innocence as in a statement confirming his positive test for the banned substance.

“At this stage, I can say little more about the matter, save that I assure all my supporters that I have not and never will deliberately take a banned substance and that I will do everything in my power to prove my innocence,” he wrote in the statement.

In 2022, he was arrested for “malicious damage to property” after an incident on an Emirates airlines flight from Dubai to Johannesburg.

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