Watch VideoLions’ Asenathi Ntlabakanye must put doping case aside for clash with Leinster’s Andrew Porter

Lions and Springbok prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye will have his hands full against veteran Ireland prop Andrew Porter. LionstightheadAsenathi Ntlabakanyehas to put his doping case to the back of his mind and focus on a massive scrum battle against Leinster on Saturday. The bigSpringbok No 3 is still awaiting the verdict of his doping caseafter returning an adverse analytical finding during a random anti-doping test conducted by the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS) last year.

Closing arguments in the case were only heard two weeks ago, SAIDS confirmed toIndependent Mediathis week. CEO Khalid Galant stated the panel is currently deliberating the case, with a verdict expected towards the end of May. In the meantime, Ntlabakanye has been cleared to play in theLions’ final two United Rugby Championship matchesagainst Leinster and Munster, with this weekend’s trip to Dublin to take on the defending champions looming large for the high-flying Johannesburg side.

Ntlabakanye will likely anchor the Lions’ scrum against a Leinster pack boosted by the return of Irish international Andrew Porter, who recently starred in their Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulon. Porter earned the Man-of-the-Match award for his all-round contribution, carrying and tackling with venom and giving the French outfit a torrid time at the set-piece. He could be joined in the front row by veteran Ireland tighthead Tadhg Furlong, who has returned to training ahead of the match.

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On the bright side, Ntlabakanye need only look back at how these two stalwarts of Irish rugby struggled against the Springboks on a glorious November evening in Dublin. This should give the Lions the belief that Porter and Furlong are not invincible. Porter missed the entirety of the Six Nations campaign with a calf injury and suffered another knock against Edinburgh, but his barnstorming return against Toulon shows he is peaking at the right time.

But he came back against Toulon with a barnstorming performance, and is now looking to end the season with silverware, as the fourth-placed Leinster going in search of the URC and Champions Cup double. The third-placed Lions are chasing their own piece of history. Coming off six successive wins, they are looking to cement their place in the play-offs and earn a home quarter-final at their Ellis Park fortress. It is for this reason that Leinster assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal is not taking the South Africans lightly.

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