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Springbok duo fail drug tests
AAP November 16, 2010, 4:23 am
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South Africa's Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson will play no further part in the Springboks' tour of Britain and Ireland after the pair failed doping tests.
The duo both returned positive test samples for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine following South Africa's 23-21 win over Ireland in Dublin on November 6.
Six Nations Rugby Ltd - who administer the November internationals - informed the South African Rugby Union of the positive tests late on Sunday.
As a result the pair are provisionally suspended from all rugby, including this Saturday's match against Scotland at Murrayfield and the November 27 encounter against England, and will return to South Africa on Monday.
Basson injured an ankle playing on the wing in Saturday's 29-25 win over Wales in Cardiff - a match where front row Ralepelle came off the bench - and was due to return anyway.
The players were randomly drawn for testing by anti-doping officials following the Test at Lansdowne Road. Both Basson and Ralepelle have the right to request that their 'B' sample be tested.
A SARU statement said 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 January 1, 2011."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...il-drug-tests/
'Non-specified' means there are no concessions in the WADA code for unintended use.
Methylhexaneamine, a stimulant that appears in some nasal decongestants, was also the substance that led to Nigeria's Osayemi Oludamola being stripped of her 100 metres gold medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games last month.
SARU confirms Bjorn Basson, Chiliboy Ralepelle tests
From: AFP December 14, 2010 12:58PM
THE South African Rugby Union has confirmed winger Bjorn Basson and hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle took a banned stimulant during a tour of Britain and Ireland.
Basson and Ralepelle failed random doping tests for methylhexaneamine after the Springboks beat Ireland 23-21 in Dublin last month at the start of a tour in which they also won Tests against Wales and England but lost to Scotland.
A union statement said a tribunal will probe the incident with a hearing date and the names of the members to be announced next year after investigations have been completed.
The Springboks insist they are innocent, saying they were “disappointed and shocked” by the positive results, and face a range of penalties from a warning to a two-year suspension.
SARU confirmed neither player will appeal against the testing procedure after being told the “B” samples matched the original findings following random tests.
South African officials believe a nutritional supplement taken by all the players during the five-week tour may have caused the positive tests and its usage is likely to be reviewed during the investigation.
Basson, who is joining Super 14 champions Northern Bulls next season from Currie Cup minnows Griqualand West, started against Ireland and Wales after first-choice JP Pietersen was ruled out of the tour by injury.
Ralepelle is considered a potential future captain of the national team and has been understudy to current skipper and hooker John Smit for several years despite not being the number-one choice at the Bulls.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225970889262