‘There’ll be a three-month ban’
26 Jan 2011
GARETH DUNCAN talks to Prof Tim Noakes about the Springbok ‘doping’ saga, and the precautions players should take to avoid testing positive.
Were you surprised to hear about Bjorn Basson and Chiliboy Ralepelle’s failed drugs tests?
I didn’t expect it and I don’t think it was intentional. The banned stimulant, methylhexanamine, does not enhance performance in a meaningful way and it could have entered their systems in a number of ways. Certain medication and foods contain methylhexanamine, and modern drugs tests are so advanced that it will take a nanogram of that substance for the stimulant to be traced. I also suspect it could have been in the supplements they were using. While some manufacturers certify that their supplements don’t contain banned substances, their equipment often produces different batches of supplements, so not all batches are always clean. If it was in the supplements, it could have happened to any of the players. Imagine if key players like Victor Matfield or Bakkies Botha had to fail the drugs tests. There would have been chaos in the media.
So the ‘doping’ calls were unfair?
I couldn’t believe the media and people were calling the players ‘dopers’ and ‘cheats’ for what appears to have been an innocent mistake. They weren’t intentionally taking drugs to enhance their performance. Normally sportsmen who can win millions in prize money are the ones who dope to win, like in the Tour de France, but South African rugby players don’t earn that kind of money. The cost of proper doping that will escape detection is expensive – it can cost up to R200 000 or R300 000 per year. Most rugby players will bow down to these economical pressures.
What is methylhexanamine?
It’s a pretty ineffective stimulant and it may be reclassified by the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] in 2011. The bad thing about its prohibited list is that most stimulants are banned without proper testing. Stimulants are banned simply because they are believed to aid performance in some sports. Some years ago we tested isoprenaline, also a banned stimulant which is similar to methylhexanamine, and found that it doesn’t enhance performance. If methylhexanamine is taken off the banned list in the future, it will confirm my opinion that this is all a storm in a teacup.
What will be the consequences of the Bok ‘doping’ incident?
I think there will be a three-month ban because the ‘doping’ was unintentional and didn’t involve a real doping drug like steroids. Chiliboy and Bjorn should be able to play Super Rugby in 2011.
Should the Springbok management monitor what supplements the players take?
They do, but it’s a tough situation to be in because you can’t guarantee that every batch of supplements the team uses will be 100% clean and it will cost a lot to test each tin of supplements. Players also receive free supplements from their sponsors and unions, and because they train for four or more hours a day, they take the supplements instead of eating. I don’t understand why players continue to use supplements instead of just eating properly. It’s not proven that supplements offer anything that you can’t get just from eating better. And if you use the supplements, you run the risk of failing a drugs test. Players should rather eat properly or take meal replacements produced by ethical companies.
What’s your take on Craven Week Player of the Year Johan Goosen also getting banned after traces of methylhexanamine were found in his system?
I don’t know the details but the fact that he only received a three-month ban indicates it wasn’t a serious offence and more likely an unintentional mistake. The sad thing is that junior players, especially schoolboys, see rugby professionals taking supplements, so they also take them, thinking they will help. So they also risk testing positive. There’s also the view that schoolboys are more likely to dope because of the pressures of establishing a rugby career after school and the risk of detection is low since little testing is performed on junior rugby players.
This article first appeared in SA Rugby magazine. Click here to subscribe to the print or digital editions.
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36 Comments
26 Jan 2011, 10:32 am
Rent a quote professor
26 Jan 2011, 10:37 am
Not a single South African has made the shortlist(18 tries in the list) for try of the year (2011) pretty much sums up our 2010 year doesnt it.
26 Jan 2011, 10:37 am
http://www.irb.com/history/awards/newsid=2041319.html#vote+closes+try+year+2010
26 Jan 2011, 10:39 am
Although there are 3 tries in that list that are scored against us from NZ, Aus and Wales respectively.
26 Jan 2011, 10:45 am
@PiXel_NiNja(PiXel_NiNja)-3: i haven’t seen most of those tries but israel dagg’s try aginst us is my favourite, he left Spies standing!
26 Jan 2011, 10:56 am
@Transformation(Transformation)-5:
For me, I would say the most memorable try would definitely have been the one where Nonu slipped through Smit offering him a boot as a memento for his 100th cap, and in return robbing him(us?) of what would have been a glorious victory at the christening of FNB stadium against the best of the best.
26 Jan 2011, 11:05 am
@PiXel_NiNja(PiXel_NiNja)-6: but i guarantee you the poms will vote Ashton’s try against Aus as the best, they already say it’s the best ever scored at Twickenham..
26 Jan 2011, 12:46 pm
@PiXel_NiNja(PiXel_NiNja)-6: Scores were tied at that point if I remember correctly? If yes, glorious victory is a bit presumptuous.
26 Jan 2011, 12:48 pm
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-8: well spotted
26 Jan 2011, 17:22 pm
Their testing was conducted by a private lab contracted to the IRB, it wasn’t by a reputable independent anti doping agency.
They said it was a ‘methylhexanamine’ but since the process is a conflict of interests anyway, we simply don’t know, nor does the good Doctor.
The other argument is laughable: every rugby player from the Plataland takes steroids just to get in contention for selection at school and regional level, there is no system in place to test them all, old habits died hard, assumed Chiliiboy and Basson are no exception.
26 Jan 2011, 21:15 pm
Looks like Professor Hindsight is taking over from Jake White as the resident attention ***** on keo.
26 Jan 2011, 21:16 pm
This substance is potent enough to produce noticeable effects sufficient for it to be used as a “party drug”. So it’s not like taking a vitamin pill.
Noakes is ignorant when claiming “the banned stimulant, methylhexanamine, does not enhance performance in a meaningful way”. It mimics natural adrenaline, which gives you extraordinary strength. That is precisely why it is put into gym powder — to allow you to have a more explosive, a far more intense workout than you would otherwise have.
And nobody takes a gym powder “innocently”. You take it deliberately.
These two ARE drug cheats. No doubt about it.
26 Jan 2011, 21:21 pm
This article appeared in the SA Rugby magazine which came out the beginning of December.
Well, copy and paste is the way to go.
The keo writers seem to have taken a ‘gap year’.
26 Jan 2011, 21:46 pm
Cooler as die Leeu
performed by RooiLeeu … PG16
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu, want skree WP everywhere
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu, want jy’t ‘n tattoo van ‘n Bul op jou vet vrou.
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu want jy’t ‘n plakkaat van Vrystaat bo jou bed
Jy dink jy’s cooler as ek, want jou beks vol met fake Haai tande!
Jy’s ou nuus, ek kom met Leeu beats
Jy lê en vrek, ek paw jou Brokeback bek
Jy’s n klein mier, ek’s ou Lion Lager bier
Jy’s die ou met die Mr Price Sharks trui en broek … Ek’s die ou wat will net puke!
Ek watch jou, jy koekeloer die WPians
Ek’s fantasties, jy’s hond k*k Spies
Jy’s Earl Rose, ek’s Elton Jantjies
Jy’s boring soos Loftus ommie stad die naam is Tshwane
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu, want skree WP everywhere
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu, want jy’t ‘n tattoo van ‘n Bul op jou vet vrou.
Jy dink jy’s cooler as die RooiLeeu want jy’t ‘n plakkaat van Vrystaat bo jou bed
Jy dink jy’s cooler as ek, want jou beks vol met fake Haai tande!
/\___/\
/// . . \\\
\\\ ^ ///
ROAR …®
26 Jan 2011, 22:04 pm
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-12:
there you go tickles.
I’m sure you know MUCH more than he does about the subject in question.
Good on yer.
26 Jan 2011, 22:09 pm
#14 RED LION
Tipiese Lion
Kan niks oorspronklik doen nie, moet altyd iemand copy
In die geval vir Jack
En Jack is van Parow in die Kaap en support Stormers
En Jack soek sy Royalties
26 Jan 2011, 22:11 pm
nasty! that Frog got poked in the eye by another Frog.
27 Jan 2011, 00:42 am
The google ****** @ # 12 must be the most predictable blogger on the www.
And he dares think anyone would believe him…based on what real knowledge?
Just a cyber poser.
27 Jan 2011, 01:02 am
WHERE ‘*’ = m o n k e y
27 Jan 2011, 08:25 am
Ran into Basson at Mugg&Bean in Brooklyn Mall yesterday afternoon. He was with his wife and kid, that didnt stop me from making him pose for a photo with me though. And ofcourse cracking some lame jokes bout whether he had the hot chocolate he was drinking tested. I asked bout the hearing but he didnt want to let anything slip, just that it went well and that he hopes to be back on the field of play soon.
27 Jan 2011, 08:35 am
If you really want to cheat using methylhexanamine you must be very stupid to be caught. Cheats will not be caught as easily as Chilliboy and Bjorn Basson.
27 Jan 2011, 13:21 pm
All drug cheats think they’re too clever to get caught.
27 Jan 2011, 18:37 pm
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-20: Just what they guy needed I am sure, some random poking their nose into his business and lunch.
28 Jan 2011, 05:20 am
This stuff gives athletes about as much advantage as a bag of jelly tots.
28 Jan 2011, 06:18 am
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-24:
Yet two of the nine Australian athletes that tested positive at the end of last year… rugby league players… received two year bans… with the other seven currently in the courts…
28 Jan 2011, 06:23 am
@stormer in a teacup(stormer in a teacup)-24: Jelly Tots aren’t consumed as a party drug. This substance is. That should tell you it’s really quite mighty.
28 Jan 2011, 06:46 am
Performance enhancing drugs in professional sport is nothing new.
Those that whine about it need to grow up. The Bulls are still going to knock the stuffing out of the Kaaiwaais….again.
28 Jan 2011, 07:44 am
@goyougoodthing2(goyougoodthing2)-23: I know. I always feel bad about it when I do it. To his credit he responded really well and his wife is very friendly.
28 Jan 2011, 08:01 am
So they both get off. Noakes really has made a fool of himself again.
28 Jan 2011, 08:26 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-26: Please dont EVER invite me to one of your parties…
28 Jan 2011, 08:42 am
@Taahirah(Taahirah)-30:
Don’t worry, you can’t buy jelly tots in NZ…!
28 Jan 2011, 09:01 am
Marijuana is a party drug. That doesn’t mean it is going to improve an athletes performance. By the way I consumed a lot of jelly tots at parties as a kid. Never had the testing in those days they have now though.
28 Jan 2011, 09:23 am
Tim is right. I read another interresting article about how some drugs end up on the banned list. In many cases no actual testing is done about the effects of the drug on performance, it’s done mostly on heresay. Which means that in this instance it may not even have been nescessary to have put this on the banned list.
In most instances the most effective performance enhancing substances are those that mimic the existing hormone structures in the body and simply boost these. Good examples of these are EPO and Testosterone.
The test for EPO measures the hematocrit levels in the body, and the limit is 50. Normal people test anywhere around 19/20. So what cyclists do is boost the hematocrit levels through EPO, until they get close to the 50 mark and then maintain as close to that as possible. Bjarne Riise had levels close to 60 when he was doping, which is very dangerous (too much red blood cells thicken your blood)
Testosterone is also naturally present in the body in differing levels depending on genetics, age etc. In 2003 the IOC set the legal limit at a marker of 5 for testosterone in athletes. The normal lecvel is 1-2. In exeptional cases a bit higher.
In making allowances for the extreme, anti-doping agencies are tacitly allowing (some say encouraging) a certain amount of doping in athletes.
So basically the smart way to dope within the rules is to fly as close to the edge as possible without going over the limit.
In certain cases Rugby players have tested over the limit and have gotten away with the excuse that eating large amounts of red meat boosts the testosterone levels. But you’d have to eat a shed load of it to have any significant effect Kobus Visage anyone?
28 Jan 2011, 10:25 am
Springboks Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson can return to playing rugby immediately after a Judicial Committee found that there was “no fault” on the part of the players for positive tests for a banned stimulant.
28 Jan 2011, 21:06 pm
Prof Tim Noakes is starting to be a bit of a soundbite engineer…
He is really losing a bit of credibility in this silly race for publicity…
He is not the be all and end all of Sports Medicine, never mind in rugby…
With comments like these in this article his loss of credibility is real, not just imagined by Tackler.
19 Feb 2011, 11:44 am
If I ran this site I would take this article off the main page as it only proves how dumb some of the folk are that these journos interview. And you should not be advertising that.
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