Springboks star returns to action amid doping ban charge after failed drug test
Springboks and Lions front-rower Asenathi Ntlabakanye.
Springboks front-rower Asenathi Ntlabakanye is set to return to action on Saturday when he lines up for the Lions against Griquas in the Currie Cup final at Ellis Park.
Ntlabakanye, who has won two Springboks caps after making his Test debut against Italy in Gqeberha earlier this year, has been kicking his heels on the sidelines for the past month after providing an “adverse analytical finding” during random testing.
However, Lions head coach Mziwakhe Nkosi has confirmed that the behemoth tighthead prop will be in the Johannesburg-based outfit’s run-on side for the Currie Cup final and will also be his side’s vice-captain with fellow Bok Quan Horn leading the team from full-back.
‘Asenathi will start for us this weekend’
“Let us be straight. Asenathi will start for us this weekend,” Nkosi told reporters earlier this week.
“He has been charged but has not been suspended, so in the interim, he is a contracted player for the Lions and must play up until his hearing in December.
“We have had a chat with him.
“He needed a couple of weeks to come to terms with what has happened and to put together the case he is going to present, but emotionally he is now in a good place.
“He will be the vice-captain for the weekend.”
After revealing Ntlabakanye‘s “adverse analytical finding”, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) chief executive Khalid Galant revealed that the player was not provisionally suspended in terms of the anti-doping rules.
Ntlabakanye was not considered for selection for the Springboks’ recent Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand after the failed doping test, with Rassie Erasmus axing him from his squad for the round three and four Rugby Championship matches.
At the time, SA Rugby confirmed the results of Ntlabakanye’s test and stated he disputes ‘that he has committed an anti-doping violation’.
A statement from the governing body added: “The non-performance enhancing substance for which he tested positive was prescribed by a specialist physician early in 2025 for medical reasons and taken with the approval and the supervision of a medical doctor specifically appointed to manage the medical affairs of professional rugby players.
‘Transparent in his declarations’
“Ntlabakanye was transparent in his declarations, acted in good faith and at all times followed the medical due process as prescribed by the industry. He relied on the relevant professional medical advice and at no time did he seek to obtain an unfair advantage nor did he take any medical substance without prior medical authorisation.”
However, his situation appeared to have worsened when a Daily Maverick report revealed that SAIDS formally charged the 26-year-old for taking the non-specified (performance-enhancing) drug Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which he declared on a medical form.
Despite the current cloud over him due to the ongoing saga, Ntlabakanye can count on the Lions’ full support during the matter.
“The cards will fall the way they fall, but we are behind Ase — from the chairman and CEO to the players,” said Nkosi.
“He is in the right emotional state to play after training with us for two weeks. It is right for us to play him with the URC tour coming up.”
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