The call-up of South African prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye (26) to face France in the opening match of the 2025 Autumn Tour next Saturday at the Stade de France is causing controversy. The Golden Lions player is facing two charges of anti-doping rule violations over positive tests in 2025.

Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has called up Asenathi Ntlabakanye to replace Ox Nche, injured this weekend against Japan, for the eagerly awaited meeting with France on Saturday 8 November in Saint-Denis. The decision comes despite a delicate legal situation for the tighthead prop (who could be switched to loosehead), who was already left out of the Rugby Championship this summer after a first positive test came to light in August.

According to information relayed by numerous media outlets in South Africa, the player is said to have tested positive twice this year. The charges brought against him by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) concern a specified substance (anastrozole) and a non-specified substance (DHEA), the latter not having been detected in blood analysis but declared by the player. Despite those charges, Ntlabakanye is not suspended at this stage and remains free to play while awaiting his hearing, scheduled for December.

Backing from the head coach

The player, who has two caps, protests his innocence and insists he acted in complete good faith and never sought to gain an unfair advantage. His defence is that he took those substances as part of a course of treatment prescribed and approved by doctors within the South African federation’s set-up.

By naming him in the extended squad for Saturday’s test match against France, Rassie Erasmus is showing strong support for his player. The head coach has stated publicly that this was not only a sporting decision (in Nche’s absence), but also a gesture of human support during what is described as a difficult period for Ntlabakanye.

This heavily publicised and controversial backdrop surrounding one of South Africa’s props adds an electric dimension to this weekend’s contest. The Springboks, reigning world champions, will have to deal not only with the French opposition, but also with the media fallout from this doping case, which is far from the only one. And even less the first…