Boks: Ox Nche's replacement returns after 70 days in Test wilderness

The Springboks have called up Asenathi Ntlabakanye to replace injured loosehead prop Ox Nche, 70 days after the Lions front-rower was withdrawn from the national setup following an adverse analytical finding in a random drug test.

Ntlabakanye, who made his Test debut against Italy in July and featured for the Barbarians against the All Blacks XV at Twickenham on Saturday, joined the Springbok squad in London on Sunday morning and travelled with them to France a few hours later.

The powerful prop opened the scoring for the Barbarians in the second minute of that match, which ended 33-19 in favour of the All Blacks XV.

Nche, meanwhile, was forced to leave the field in the 18th minute of the Boks’ 61-7 victory over Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and has since returned to South Africa for scans.

“We feel for Ox, and we wish him all the best with his injury and recovery,” said head coach Rassie Erasmus. “It’s always tough to lose a player of his calibre, but Asenathi is a capped Springbok and he has been with us for a large part of the season, so he is familiar with our structures and systems.

“Adding to that, he was on our standby list for the tour, so there was always a chance he would be called up if we suffered an injury. Fortunately, he was in London already, so he arrived at the team hotel this morning and will be able to slot back into action immediately, which is fantastic for us.”

Ntlabakanye’s return comes just over two months after the South African Rugby Union announced he had tested positive for a non-performance enhancing substance prescribed by a specialist earlier in the year. At the time, SA Rugby said the player had “acted in good faith” and was transparent about the medication, disputing that he had committed any anti-doping violation.

The Springboks arrived in France on Sunday afternoon and will begin preparations for their clash against Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Saturday.