South Africa duo sent home after positive stimulant tests

(EPA)

The Springboks, halfway through their tour of the British Isles and yet to be beaten, should have spent yesterday preparing for the third item on their Grand Slam agenda – the subjugation of Scotland at Murrayfield this coming weekend. Instead, the head coach Peter De Villiers and his colleagues were forced to launch an urgent inquiry into their players' dietary habits after two members of the squad, the first-choice wing Bjorn Basson and the second-string hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle, tested positive for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine, a substance found in a variety of over-the-counter supplement and decongestant products.

Basson, who was leaving the tour anyway after suffering an ankle injury during the narrow victory over Wales on Saturday, and Ralepelle were suspended from all rugby pending investigation and ordered to fly home to South Africa without further ado. De Villiers, meanwhile, was consulting with his staff in an effort to discover how the substance came to be in their systems and how many other players might have put themselves at risk.

De Villiers was told early yesterday that random tests conducted after the win in Ireland on 6 November had produced the results. "When I informed the players, they were extremely shocked and disappointed," he said. "If there is something we are taking that might have caused this, we must find that out now. We have done quite a bit already, sending stuff for testing."

The team doctor Craig Roberts, confirmed that both Basson and Ralepelle were on medication for flu symptoms and added: "We need to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. It could have come from many different sources. We're going through the process of looking at all the possibilities and exhausting them one by one."

This is not the first time traces of the stimulant have landed South African players in trouble. Earlier this month, the 19-year-old Free State Cheetahs outside-half Johan Goosen was banned until the end of January after testing positive for the substance, which was present in a supplement he bought from a store in Bloemfontein after accepting an assurance from the shop assistant that it contained no prohibited ingredients. Goosen was told he had been negligent.

It was unclear yesterday whether the Boks would send for replacements. After Murrayfield, they face England at Twickenham on Saturday week in what could be one of the most significant Tests of the year. They also have a date with the Barbarians early next month.

Scotland, badly stung by their limp performance against the All Blacks at the weekend, delayed naming their side for the Springbok contest after finding that 10 of those given the runaround by the New Zealanders were unable to train yesterday. Among those causing concern was Mike Blair, the scrum-half and captain, who had taken a bang to the head. Fortunately for the coach Andy Robinson, Rory Lawson will be available after recovering from a hand injury.

England, in very different mood following their exciting performance against the Wallabies at Twickenham, were engaged in their usual injury audit ahead of this weekend's meeting with Samoa. They are likely to make changes whatever the extent of the body count from last weekend, with Delon Armitage of London Irish and Matt Banahan of Bath thought to be contesting the outside-centre position. England need an alternative to Mike Tindall, whose participation at next year's World Cup is not a given.

* Shane Williams could miss Wales' Six Nations opener against England in Cardiff on 4 February after dislocating his left shoulder during Wales' 29-25 defeat by South Africa on Saturday. He will be sidelined for a minimum of 10 weeks.