Hendre Stassen has made his comeback after a four-year doping ban
Hendre Stassen has become the latest South African rugby player to make his return to the professional game following a four-year ban for a failed doping test.
The Stormers sent the utility forward into battle for the last 15 minutes of their Friday night URC loss at Cardiff, an appearance that was his first since the 2019 suspension he received while playing for Stade Francais in France.
Stassen was brought on by Stormers boss John Dobson in the 65th minute at the Arms Park to replace Willie Engelbrecht, his debut coming more than eight weeks after the Cape Town franchise confirmed a deal offering the now 25-year-old a route back into the pro ranks.
The return of Stassen to the field came just weeks after the Sharks provided Aphiwe Dyantyi his path back into the sport after the expiry of his four-year ban for doping.
Whereas the then Springboks winger Dyantyi tested positive for multiple anabolic steroids, Stassen, the 2017 Junior Bok who was playing in France under former Springboks boss Heyneke Meyer after starting out at the Bulls, was banned for elevated testosterone levels.
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Despite that finding, Stassen maintained his innocence and after the Stormers confirmed two months ago that they were contracting him for the 2023/24 season, he said: "It has been great to connect with my new teammates in the pre-season.
"I am very grateful for the opportunity I have been given to represent the Stormers. I want to make the most of it and show my commitment to the team.”
Head coach Dobson added at the time: “Hendre has shown a great attitude since joining us, he is a hard worker who is ready to give everything for the team.
"We are looking forward to seeing the impact he can make both in the second row and on the side of the scrum for us.”
Stassen’s return couldn’t prevent the Stormers from falling to their fourth successive defeat on their four-game European tour, Cardiff striking with a last-gasp converted try to clinch their 31-24 win.
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All of these media pundits always miss the obvious whenever they analyse what is ailing or assisting the game. Rugby always has contentious points for debate when picking apart individual games and finding fault with itself. All this focus and scrutiny on “speeding up the game”, “high ball in play” etc is all contextual to the fan. As a tv viewer, if you’re absorbed into a game, regardless if your team is playing or not, more ball in play time and action are all byproducts of the contest. A good contest subliminally affects your memory in selectively remembering all the good aspects. A poor contest and your brain has switched off because its a blowout and the result is never in doubt or it’s a real chore to watch and remain engaged throughout. The URC, Top 14 and English premiership are all competitions that feel like there’s real jeopardy each week. The dominance of Super rugby by NZ teams was unhealthy from a sustainable interest perspective. You can’t fault those teams or the players, but the lack of competitions won by SA and Australian teams long term was always going to test the faith and patience of die-hard and casual fans from those regions. SANZAR took their eye off the fans and fans voted with their feet and subscriptions. They were so concerned about expanding their product they forgot the golden rule about broadcasting live sport. Viewers tune in more when there’s an atmosphere and a true contest. You need to fill stadiums to create one, host unions need to do more to service ticket buyers, and this year proves the other, there’s more interest in Super rugby this year only because more games are competitive with less foregone conclusions. All these micro statistics bandied about, only interest the bean counters and trainspotters.
Go to commentsIt’s a good, timely wake up call for NZ Rugby (seem to be a few of them lately!) - sort out the bureaucratic nonsense at board level. We can’t expect to stay the number one option without keeping fans/players engaged. We’ve obviously been bleeding players to league for years but can’t let the floodgates open (although I think this headline is hyperbolic as it’s a result of a recent Warriors pathways system where they are tracking things more closely) Understand the need to focus boys on rugby if they’re at a proud rugby school too, don’t think it’s harsh at all re Barakat in Hamilton. Reward the committed players with squad positions. An elite 1st XV system in NZ has done more for league than they even realise, think it’s good to protect our game further.
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