South African schoolboy rugby is played at an incredibly high level, and showdowns between rival schools can often attract crowds in excess of 10 000.

As Jonathan Kaplan will tell you, performing on this stage can lead to bigger and better things, and that puts quite a bit of pressure on the players.

Sadly, it’s no secret that South Africa has a problem with schoolboy doping.

In November of last year, it emerged that six players had tested positive for steroids at the 2018 Craven Week, with evidence that some players had started to take banned stimulants from as young as 14.

The same report indicated that there were only 122 tests carried out at Craven Week, meaning that one in 20 resulted in a positive test.

Now, according to a report on Sport24, a coach from Cape Town’s northern suburbs is under the spotlight:

Shaun Huygen, the director of rugby and first team coach of Hoërskool Durbanville, was temporarily suspended on Thursday pending an investigation.

Deon Fabel, chairperson of the school’s governing body, said a former pupil who matriculated in 2018 had issued a statement in which he claims Huygen helped him to inject an illegal substance.

In the statement, the former pupil said Huygen did not provide or sell the substance.

“The pupil asked for advice on how he could play better rugby and Huygen apparently told him to ‘bulk up’, but he did not mean for the pupil to dope,” Fabel said.

Fabel, though, added that Huygen knew that the pupil was using an illegal substance.

In response, Huygen said: “I can do nothing else but to deny it. I don’t know much more and I have to wait until the investigation against me is completed.”

If the coach knew that the pupil was using an illegal substance, then he would appear to be complicit.

Sheesh – if it’s not one school being accused of nicking players from others, it’s pupils injecting illegal substances.

Another concern is the culture of winning at all costs that such behaviour in high school creates. When 21-year-old former Blue Bulls player Hendré Stassen (pictured below), who was playing for French outfit Stade Francais, tested positive for using a performance-enhancing drug in May, many said we were just beginning to see the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s Rugby Pass:

Stassen’s compatriot Chiliboy Ralepelle tested positive for drostanolone in 2014 while with Toulouse, serving a two-year ban. He returned to professional rugby with the Sharks, where he failed another drugs test.

Furthermore, there is a growing number of players failing tests at lower levels of the game. However, this news has not shocked many fans on social media, as they feel this is the “tip of the iceberg”.

The fact that this is a South African player is least surprising, as some fans have alluded to this being commonplace for younger players there as there has been a rise in steroid use at schools level.

It’s really not a good look when our younger overseas players test positive, and everyone just gives that knowing nod.

South African schoolboy rugby remains a fantastic breeding ground for the next generation’s Springboks, but more needs to be done to ensure that an environment of dishonesty and ‘win at all costs’ doesn’t become the norm.

[sources:sport24&rugbypass]