Doping scandal hits Craven week again

NEWS: Three South African players have been suspended after testing positive for banned substances during last year’s SA Schools Craven week rugby tournament.

The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sports (SAIDS) announced that the young players were banned following positive tests at the SA Schools' interprovincial competition at Rondebosch Boys' High School in 2022.

Two of the players have been named - Lions prop Sifiso Magwaza and Free State hooker Khoitsimodimo ‘Kamo’ Mathibedi - while the third player’s name has been redacted as he is a minor.

Magwaza attended Hoerskool Monument in Krugersdorp and Mathibedi is a former Grey College student.

Each of the players have been handed three-year bans with eligibility to begin playing rugby again starting in August 2025.

This is not teh first time the elite School competition Cravenweek has been hit with a doping saga.

In 2018 six young players were caught using banned substances in anti-doping tests, which continued an alarming trend after three positive tests in 2014, five in 2015, four in 2016 and three in 2017.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela University’s Andre Gerber, was handed a three-year ban based on results from testing in the Varsity Cup.