By Lucky Vince Pienaar
Talented but troubled rugby player Sbu Nkosi may have finally taken one chance too many.
Cheetahs Rugby has confirmed that Nkosi has tested positive for a banned substance and may face a four-year ban.
Newspaper Rapport said that Nkosi was tested by World Rugby along with three other Springboks in May this year.
His A sample came back positive for the use of anabolic steroids mostly used by bodybuilders. The B sample is yet to be tested, but the findings are very rarely different to the first.
Nkosi was excluded from the squad that played the Bulls at Loftus on Saturday. The 28-year-old may already have played his last match, as a successful return to top-level rugby after four years is very unlikely.
Nkosi played for the Springboks 16 times and was in the squad that won the World Cup in 2019, but he has always had an unsteady professional career.
He has a history of mental problems, the worst example of which is when he mysteriously disappeared for three weeks in 2022 when he was contracted to the Bulls.
The franchise reported him missing to the police but found him at his father’s house in Mpumalanga. Nkosi claimed the stress of senior rugby was too much for him.
He also publicly attacked the Bulls for unfair treatment before he moved to the Cheetahs under the wing of senior Free State player and coach Frans Steyn.
Former Springbok Elton Jantjies, who also has a controversial track record, is still fighting to have a failed drug test overturned, vowing that he never used drugs. He claims that he will clear his name and return to international rugby.
Pictured above: Sbu Nkosi.
Source: Springboks/X
