Springbok wing Aphiwe Dyantyi has tested positive for a banned substance after a national training camp in July.

Dyantyi tested positive for an undisclosed prohibited substance after being tested on 2 July after a Springbok training camp.

The World Rugby Breakthrough Player of 2018 released a statement in which he denies taking any banned substances and requested that his B sample be tested.

‘I want to deny ever taking any prohibited substance, intentionally or negligently to enhance my performance on the field. I believe in hard work and fair play,’ the wing said.

‘I have never cheated and never will. The presence of this prohibited substance in my body has come as a massive shock to me and together with my management team and experts appointed by them, we are doing everything we can to get to the source of this and to prove my innocence.

‘As a professional sportsman on national and international level we get tested on a regular basis. I have been tested before and again, since this test. It is part of the job and we all know that each and every player is bound to get tested at least two to four times a year. Taking any prohibited substance would not only be irresponsible and something that I would never intentionally do, it would also be senseless and stupid.

‘I underwent a drug test on the 15th of June 2019 [two weeks before he was tested on 2 July] which did not return any adverse finding.

‘I want to apologise in advance to my teammates and management at the Lions and Springboks, my friends and my family for the negative impact this news may have.

‘Personally this game has given me an opportunity to inspire not only the young rugby hopefuls but South Africans across all walks of life and that is something I do not take for granted and something I would definitely not risk by doing a stupid act like this.

‘I will now put all my energy in working with my support team and focus on proving my innocence in this matter and will not be providing any comments until there are further developments in the matter that warrant comment from my side.’

Dyantyi has struggled with injury this year, having not played in over two months due to a hamstring issue. The scale of the injury has not been made clear, but it looks set to force him out of the World Cup.

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