Rassie Erasmus came out in defense of Ntlabakanye, the South African accused of doping: “I hope he gets out of this well”

Asenathi Ntlabakanyepillar of the Springboks 26 years old, received dDoping charges for prohibited substances in September 2025. Although his original hearing was to take place in December, it was postponed to the end of March 2026 so that his legal team such as the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) had additional time to prepare.

The Lions star, who played for the Springboks on three occasions, faces a possible suspension after testing positive for two banned substances, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), in July last year and anastrozole in August. However, Rassie Erasmus came to the 26-year-old prop’s defense and made it clear that he does not believe Ntlabakanye knowingly took the substances and is hoping for the “correct outcome”.

In an interview with Rapport, the head coach stated: “I’m nervous for him. But that’s the kind of thing that we, the Springboks, are not directly involved in. We will support him in any way we can and we just hope that the right story comes out with the right result. I don’t think he intentionally did anything wrong. That said, I’m not judging anything. I just hope he comes out of this okay.”.

The drug in question was reportedly prescribed by a doctor after a referral to an endocrinologist to treat an underlying condition, which may be considered a mitigating measure. In any case, Ntlabakanye is scheduled to present his case at the end of March after the postponement. This means that Ntlabakanye was not provisionally suspended and remains eligible to play, as the substance in question does not fall into a category that would trigger an automatic suspension under the SAIDS regulations. Recently, he started for the Lions in the derby against the Bulls at Ellis Park on Saturday for the United Rugby Championship and is scheduled by Erasmus for the test against Felipe Contepomi’s Barbarians.