Chiliboy Ralepelle has been banned for eight years for doping following his losing the sanction on appeal. Picture: Getty Images
Springbok hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle is confident his career won’t run into the buffers after the latest investigation into him allegedly doping.
The 32-year-old Sharks stalwart told Marawa Sports Worldwide that the substance in question was Zenarol, a legal growth aid for livestock.
Ralepelle is thought to have tested positively for a banned substance during routine random drug testing by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport in mid-January.
He insists that he’s been taking Zenarol as part of a broader fitness regime following a two-year ban in 2014 for using the anabolic steroid drostanolone.
Ralepelle had been playing in France for Toulouse at the time.
“After the incident in 2014, I had to adjust my diet,” he told the show.
“Meat is something I tried to cut out of my diet.”
A captain of the Springboks at age 20, Ralepelle also maintains his innocence.
“Once you know you’re not guilty of anything, you’re at peace with yourself. I know I did not take anything to the detriment of my career,” he said.
“The Sharks have come out and said they are willing to support me as far as they are able to.”
Ralepelle’s unwanted reputation with banned substances started in 2010 when he and Bok teammate Bjorn Basson tested positive for methylhexanamine, which was later revealed to have been found in a list of supplements approved by the national teams’ medical staff.
They were subsequently absolved of any blame.
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