Aphiwe Dyantyi is considering lodging an appeal against the four-year ban he was handed in recent days. Picture: Getty Images
Springbok and Lions wing Aphiwe Dyantyi has, according to reports on Sunday, been banned for four years for using illegal substances.
Dyantyi, who burst onto the scene in 2017 by scoring many memorable tries for the Springboks and Lions and was named World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2018, failed a doping test months before the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
He insisted he had taken nothing illegal knowingly and had his B-sample tested as well. Three banned substances were found in his blood.
The hearing into his doping case was delayed several times, but concluded after two days of testimony by witnesses and closing arguments from both the athlete and the prosecution in November this year.
According to Rapport newspaper, the South African Institute for Drug-free Sport will make an official announcement on Monday. They quoted Dyantyi’s agent Gert van der Merwe, who said he and the player were shocked by the decision.
The substances found in Dyantyi’s sample were metandienone, methyltestosterone and LGD-4033.
Dyantyi hasn’t played rugby in 18 months. He is expected back on the field in August 2023.
Another high profile former Springbok, Chiliboy Ralepelle, was recently handed an eight-year ban for using a banned substance, called Zeranol.
Ralepelle also maintains his innocence, but he failed three separate tests over a certain period in his career, though the one occasion was deemed to have been for something given to him erroneously by the Bok management team at the time.
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