Cape Town - Western Province’s Currie Cup success last year has been tainted by a failed drugs test. Lock Gerbrandt Grobler addressed the team on Monday to confirm that he had failed a test for steroids last year.
After a protracted verification of the test samples, Grobler attended a hearing last week and has, according to sources, been banned from rugby for two years.
Repeated calls to Grobler’s agent were not returned. “No comment,” said Western Province president Thelo Wakefield, while media man Howard Kahn declared having no knowledge of the situation.
Grobler, who turns 23 on Friday, missed the 2014 Super Rugby season with a broken ankle and made a late return to duty during the latter stages of the Currie Cup.
During this time he was randomly selected for testing.
Province beat the Lions 19-16 at Newlands in the decider, and Grobler came off the bench for the final 10 minutes of the match.
It is believed that Grobler opted to use the banned substance with a view to speeding up his recovery.
Grobler made a lasting impression in his first-class starting debut at No 4 for the Stormers in a 20-15 win against the Reds at Newlands in 2013.
An uncompromising enforcer in the mould of Rynhardt Elstadt and Eben Etzebeth, Grobler appeared to be primed for a solid 2014 campaign before he was sidelined with a broken ankle.
He will leave a significant hole in strength in the locks department, given the Stormers’ reliance on brutes to manhandle opponents at the point of contact, and the high attrition rate of such players over the course of an arduous campaign.
Meanwhile, an anti-steroid abuse expert has said the use of anabolic steroids by sportsmen in various codes is still very high.
“Anabolic steroids are meant for muscle building, and have a legitimate medical role… but are not meant for sports performance,” said Khalid Galant, chief executive of the South African Institute for Drug-free Sport (Saids).
“There is a problem, and a growing problem (of steroid use in sport), and it starts in the schools. In Durban some schools have elected not to play against some other schools because of the strength of the rumours (of steroid use).
“A doctor in the north of the country recently sent me an e-mail in which he says some schools are not co-operating with the programme of testing for steroids.
“In senior sport we can test anywhere, any time, but with schools, because you are dealing with minors, the headmasters have to initiate testing.”
Galant added that in rugby most of the testing was done at Super Rugby and international level, meaning there would probably be fewer positive tests proportionately.
“For the past two years we have focused on the lower levels like Varsity Cup and Currie Cup, and schools.”
Cape Argus