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South Africa faces intensified scrutiny over its doping record amid a drastic decline in player testing. Reports reveal a staggering drop from 785 tests in 2015 to just 127 in 2024, a sixfold decrease. This comes as Elton Jantjies and S’busiso Nkosi serve bans for banned substances. Asenathi Ntlabakanye, under a doping cloud after a positive test, continues to play for both the Lions and the Springboks, denying any wrongdoing. The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) cites the suspension of Africa’s only anti-doping lab in March 2024 for the testing decline. In contrast, UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) ramps up testing from 998 to 1,241 during the same period. World Rugby’s testing, at 2,182 in 2024, is the lowest since 2015 outside of Covid years. South Africa recorded 89 doping violations during its back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories, accounting for 20 percent of global cases.
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