Springbok pair cleared of wrongdoing

Rugby:South Africa internationals Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson have been cleared to play on after a judicial hearing found they were not to blame for returning positive drug tests. The pair were suspended after they tested positive for a banned stimulant following South Africa's test against Ireland in November.

The Springboks launched an immediate investigation into the source of the stimulant, Methylhexamine (MHA),

fearing at the time it may have been contained in supplements or sports drinks given to the whole squad. During the hearing in Cape Town it was confirmed that MHA was contained in supplements provided to the Springboks team in the warm-up before the game in Dublin.

Ralepelle and Basson were just the unfortunate players to be tested after South Africa’s 23-21 victory at the Aviva Stadium. The three-man disciplinary panel exonerated both players of any wrongdoing and admonished the South African Rugby Union (SARU) for not having the supplements tested more comprehensively.

SARU chief executive Jurie Roux apologised to Ralepelle and Basson.

“This verdict completely quashes any idea that either the players or the team were guilty of any attempt to cheat. No responsibility attaches to the players at all,” Roux said.

“The banned stimulant was in a supplement given to the players in the warm-up before the Test against Ireland and is a product that has been used by the Springboks before — without any adverse analytical findings — and is used by other professional and national teams in both hemispheres.

“It was manufactured in the UK and was tested at SARU’s request by one of only two laboratories in the world equipped to perform the necessary protocols in order to ensure that it complied with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA).

“That the players subsequently tested positive for a banned stimulant was an enormous shock to the Springbok team, management and to SARU, and I am most sorry that the players have had to endure the stress and stigma attached to a failed dope test.

Hopefully this verdict will have laid to rest any idea of any wrongdoing on their part.”

Ralepelle, speaking on behalf of both players, revealed their relief at finally being cleared to play on, with the Super 15 season starting in four weeks.

“Finally the facts are out there and people can see that we were not guilty and are not doping cheats,” said the Bulls hooker. “We were only doing what the large majority of professional rugby players around the world do by using a supplement.

“Bjorn and I were the unlucky ones to be tested on the day and to have had to go through the trauma of the past two and a half months. We’re both now just looking forward to playing again and closing this chapter once and for all.”

The players received an official reprimand from the disciplinary panel because they are still seen as “strictly liable” for what goes into their bodies. But the committee concluded that any further punishment would be “out of kilter with their lack of fault in the matter”.

Ralepelle and Basson were facing potential two-year bans but the WADA downgraded MHA’s classification in January. There had been a number of positive tests in other sports related to the inadvertent use of the stimulant, originally designed for use as a nasal

decongestant.

The judicial committee agreed to treat MHA under its new classification, which allowed for a sanction to be reduced or eliminated if it could be established how a substance entered the body.