Aphiwe Dyantyi banned for four years

Troubled Springbok Aphiwe Dyantyi has been informed of his punishment for doping according to South African media. The Afrikaans weekly newspaper Rapport said Dyantyi received notice from the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport that he was slapped with a four-year ban for his doping offence.

Dyantyi’s agent, Gert van der Merwe, told Rapport they were shocked by the outcome.

“The decision makes no sense,” Van der Merwe is quoted as saying. I still have to read the full decision.

“My legal team and I plan on analysing the decision next week and we will decide whether to appeal.”

While a cause of action has not been decided, Van der Merwe indicated that an appeal is possible.

An appeal will be a costly affair and Dyantyi has not received a salary for the past 18 months.

In 2019, just weeks before the Springboks were set to depart for the World Cup, news first broke that Dyantyi’s mandatory B sample had come back testing positive for three banned substances following a national training camp.

This past November, his hearing was finally concluded, and SAIDS has reportedly now handed down a ban that will run until 12 August 2023, which is just days before his 29th birthday.

Dyanti had won World Rugby's Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2018, although his meteoric rise into professional rugby had caught many by surprise. Dyanti has maintained his innocence throughout the process.