Lions and Springbok prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye has been banned for 18 months after testing positive for a prohibited substance.
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The Independent Doping Tribunal Panel (IDHP) has issued a hefty 18-month ban on Springbok and Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye for testing positive for a prohibited substance.
The ban is effective from May 13 and ends on November 13, 2027 — thus ruling Ntlabakanye out of next year’s World Cup in Australia.
Rubbing painful salt into the 27-year-old’s wounds is the ruling that he must forfeit any income and awards he received since first testing positive on May 22, 2025. However, the Lions will not be penalised in any way for fielding Ntlabakanye in matches in the United Rugby Championship during the deliberation period.
On Tuesday, Ntlabakanye was named in Rassie Erasmus’s Springbok camp taking place next week. He played for the Lions in their match last week in Dublin and would have had a role in the team’s fixture against Munster on Saturday in Limerick.
A statement said: “The IDHP ruled that all the player’s individual competitive results and benefits, such as player-of-the-match awards, personal accolades, match fees, and bonuses, are disqualified with effect from the date of sample collection. The disqualification of results is limited to the player’s own individual competitive results and benefits and does not extend to a team result."
The IDHP is a neutral body responsible for ruling on doping violations. It operates independently of sporting organisations. In South Africa, an IDHP panel is appointed by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS). Asenathi, SAIDS, World Rugby, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have 21 days within which to file an appeal against the sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Lions said on Thursday that they, together with MyPlayers, will deliberate on the appropriate next steps. "During this time, the Lions Rugby Company will continue to support Ntlabakanye as he navigates the process ahead," the union said in a statement.
"As a result of the decision, Ntlabakanye’s period of ineligibility commenced on May 13, 2026, which rules him out of this weekend’s Round 18 United Rugby Championship fixture against Munster."
The union added that no further comment will be made by the Lions or the player until the process regarding the way forward has been concluded.
Ntlabakanye's urine sample tested positive for the Hormone and Metabolic Modulator, Anastrozole, during an out-of-competition test a year ago. Under South African Anti-Doping Rules, this substance is classified as a “specified substance” and does not warrant a mandatory suspension.
The player also self-declared the use of a prohibited anabolic steroid, DHEA. On September 9, 2025, he was formally charged for the presence and use of Anastrozole and the use of DHEA. Ntlabakanye challenged the doping charge and presented his version of events to the IDHP during a hearing held over two days in March, which concluded with closing arguments on April 21, 2026.
The IDHP had to determine whether the violations were intentional, the degree of fault, and the appropriate sanction. Within the framework of the rules, the IDHP ruled that Ntlabakanye must serve an 18-month ban. All is not yet lost for the prop, as SAIDS is currently reviewing the decision to decide whether it will file its own appeal.