Former Blue Bulls Craven Week prop banned for anabolic steroid use

Former South African Schools prop Deon Botes has been handed a four-year ban by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) after testing positive for the prohibited anabolic steroid nandrolone during the 2025 U18 Craven Week.

The sanction makes Botes the latest promising young rugby player to receive a lengthy suspension for an anti-doping violation.

READ | UK publication again implies Springboks have a doping problem

Positive test at Craven Week

Botes, who matriculated from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in 2025, was tested in competition while representing the Blue Bulls at the U18 Craven Week tournament in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, on 7 July 2025.

His urine sample returned positive for 19-norandrosterone and 19-noretiocholanolone, metabolites of nandrolone, a prohibited anabolic androgenic steroid listed under Category S1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List.

Botes later represented the SA Schools ‘A’ team during the U18 International Series before the positive test result emerged.

B-sample confirmed result

After being informed of the adverse analytical finding, Botes requested that his B-sample be analysed. The second sample confirmed the original result.

According to SAIDS, the player did not challenge the laboratory findings or the integrity of the sample collection process.

Instead, the hearing focused on whether he could establish how the prohibited substance entered his system and whether the anti-doping rule violation was unintentional.

Supplement defence rejected

According to Rugby365, during the hearing before an Independent Doping Hearing Panel (IDHP) on 11 June 2026, Botes maintained he had not deliberately doped.

He told the panel he had been taking a product called “Testojoint” to assist with shoulder pain and recovery.

According to evidence presented, the supplement had been purchased for cash by his father from an unidentified individual outside a pharmacy.

The product reportedly carried the wording “Ultimate Test Booster” but had no receipt, manufacturer details, batch number or expiry date.

Botes said he began using the supplement in April 2025, increasing his intake to three to five capsules per week during June.

He also acknowledged he may have travelled to Craven Week with a pillbox containing the capsules and consumed them in the days leading up to his doping test.

The panel accepted that Botes and his family gave sincere evidence and made significant efforts to identify an innocent explanation.

However, it concluded that they failed to establish how the prohibited substance entered his body, meaning the requirements for a reduced sanction were not met.

Ban runs until 2029

SAIDS imposed the standard four-year period of ineligibility, with the suspension backdated to 25 August 2025, when Botes was provisionally suspended.

He will be eligible to return to competitive sport on 25 August 2029.

The case follows another recent junior rugby suspension, with Wits loose forward Liam Santos receiving a three-year ban earlier this year.

READ | Former Grey College and Wits player handed three-year doping ban

Meanwhile, Junior Springboks prop Kai Pratt is reportedly still weighing up whether or not to have his B-sample tested after also returning a positive doping test earlier in 2026.

Does SA rugby have a doping problem?

Let us know by clicking on the comment banner below …