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Cape Town - Sharks and Springbok hooker Chiliboy Ralepelle faces a nervy few hours with the results of his B-sample test after another doping allegation expected on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old has had two previous run-ins with illegal substances and was given a two-year ban in 2014 having tested positive for Drostanolone while at French club Toulouse.
The other incident came in 2010 when, along with Bok wing Bjorn Basson, Ralepelle was sent home from the end-of-year tour after traces of the banned substance Methylhexanamine had been found in his system.
Both players were proved innocent, though, with SA Rugby having been at fault for providing them with the wrong supplements.
This latest allegation could prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the 32-year-old Ralepelle if the results do not go his way.
Ralepelle allegedly tested positive for a banned substance in January when the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (Saids) performed a random drug tests at Kings Park.
Since then, Ralepelle has insisted that he did not take anything illegal to his knowledge, while he does confirm testing positive for Zeranol - a legal substance used to promote the growth of livestock.
Speaking to Sport24 on Monday, South African Institute for Drug Free Sport (SAIDS) CEO Khalid Galant confirmed that he was expecting the results of the B-sample to be released by the laboratory on Tuesday.
When that happens, Ralepelle and his legal team will be informed of what the result is, and only then will the information be made public.
The B-sample tests the same sample of urine that was used in the A-sample, so results of the B-sample test almost never provide different outcomes.
"If the B-sample comes back positive, then we proceed with the charge," Galant said.
"The athlete can either accept the findings or he can contest them, and if he does that then we set a date and move on to a hearing."
The only way that Ralepelle will be able to continue his Super Rugby season with the Sharks immediately is if the B-sample comes back negative.
If it comes back positive and he contests the findings, then the suspension will stand until the case is completed.
The Sharks, meanwhile, are facing a hooker crisis currently with Akker van der Merwe expected to face a lengthy ban following his red card over the weekend while Craig Burden is also set to be sidelined for an extended period with a bicep injury.
