Visagie facing drugs ban

Visagie blames dietary supplements for his positive test

Springbok prop Cobus Visagie is protesting his innocence at a disciplinary hearing into his positive test for nandrolone.

If Visagie is found guilty by the three-man commission in Cape Town, he will be banned from rugby for two years.

Unusually high levels of the banned steroid were found in the 27-year-old's urine when he was routinely tested after a Currie Cup match in October.

Visagie is expected to base his defence on scientific studies which show high levels of nandrolone may occur naturally through taking legal nutritional supplements allied to strenuous exercise.

Visagie and many of his provincial and Springbok team-mates take supplements including the controversial, but legal, creatine.

The hearing, expected to take two days, is being chaired by Judge Edwin King who is also chairing the King Commission into cricket match-fixing.