Daan Human opens up on Ntlabakanye doping hearing, prop depth in the Boks

2026-03-07 - 05:33

Springbok scrum guru Daan Human is hopeful that rising prop talent Asenathi Ntlabakanye will get through his doping hearing unscathed and will be available for the Boks at the start of the new international season in June. Ntlabakanye was pinged for two doping violations last year, one for a specified (non-performance enhancing) substance found during a routine doping test, and the other for a prescribed medicine containing a banned substance by a specialist that he had declared on a form. According to reports, both times Ntlabakanye was prescribed those medications, which had been cleared by medical professionals, making it a much more complex case than usual. He was meant to face a hearing in December, but that was pushed back to March for further investigation and to get the evidence of expert witnesses, so it will now take place towards the end of this month. It has been speculated that Ntlabakanye could receive a two-year ban, instead of the usual four years, due to the extenuating circumstances, but both Human and Bok coach Rassie Erasmus are holding out hope that he might be cleared of wrong-doing. Erasmus nervous In January Erasmus said that he was nervous about the upcoming hearing, but also said he believed that Ntlabakanye had done nothing wrong personally. Despite his potential ban, Ntlabakanye was invited to the first Bok alignment camp of the year, in Cape Town this week, and this past Monday at a Springbok media day, Human said his selection was due to his top recent form. “I don’t want to say anything about the disciplinary hearing because I don’t know too much about that. I am more focused on the guys who are here and he is one of them. He has been invited because he is playing good rugby,” said Human. “Hopefully he will get through that hearing and hopefully he will be available for us as soon as possible. “I can really see the improvement he has made (over last year). I had a lekker chat with him the other day and hopefully we can keep him fit and ready.” Daan Human, the Springbok scrum guru. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images If the Boks were to lose Ntlabakanye it would be a big blow to their prop stocks, which have been rocked in recent years by the forced retirement of Steven Kitshoff, and the unavailability of injured stalwarts Frans Malherbe, who was at the alignment camp, and Trevor Nyakane. But Human said that he was very happy with some of the exciting young talents coming through the system, including former Junior Springbok captain Zachary Porthen, who can play on either side of the scrum and made his Bok debut at the tender age of 21 in November last year. “He’s (Porthen) played both loosehead and tighthead for us. He’s done well so far, which I’m very grateful for. He just needs to get on the field consistently,” said Human. Taking chance Regarding veteran tighthead Malherbe, Human said: “He’s got a lot to offer, I can promise you that. He’s been resting and dealing with injury, but last year other guys like Thomas (du Toit) and Wilco (Louw) got opportunities and took them. That’s how you grow depth.” On 36-year-old Nyakane, Human warned not to count him out: “He’s not older today. He’s actually younger because the last two years he hasn’t been playing much, so we are definitely not counting him out. “You can never have enough props. If a player is 20 or 35 and he’s good enough, he’ll play.” Human dismissed the notion that props only reach their peak in their early to mid 30s, and explained that if a youngster was good enough, he would be picked over a more experienced player, and vise versa. “Props can get better with age because of experience. But the main thing is how he’s playing now. If a 21-year-old shows in training he can handle it physically and technically, then there’s no problem,” explained Human. “We make sure in practice that we can see who can hang in there and who can stand up. That tells you a lot. Nowadays, there are a lot of games in a year and it’s vital to grow your player group and the more guys you can get ready and fit in with the way we’re doing things, the better for us. “But I think experience-wise, going into a World Cup, experience does lead us in making decisions, but still the main thing must be how he is playing in the moment.”