Sharks hooker Monde Hadebe has been banned for four years as a result of a positive dope test following random drug testing during Super Rugby earlier this year. Another Super Rugby player‚ who cannot be named and whose identity is known to TMG Digital‚ has also tested positive and is awaiting the outcome of testing on his B sample.Khalid Galant‚ chief executive of the South African Institute for Drug Free Sports (SAIDS)‚ on Wednesday confirmed these results and added that another 16 players at all levels of the sport had tested positive for various banned substances since March 2015.Hadebe‚ who has not played for the Sharks in Super Rugby this season‚ tested positive for two banned steroids. More worrying though is that two thirds of the positive tests came from junior ranks – Craven Week and the Academy Week as well as the provincial under-19 competition.“I can confirm that there have been 18 positive doping tests reported to SA Rugby between March 2015 and March 2016‚” Galant said.“Of those‚ 12 of them are minors who were 18 or younger at the time of testing.“We continue to test at Super Rugby level and I can confirm that there have been two positive tests. Monde Hadebe is one but the other player cannot yet be named because he is still in the hearing process. The balance of the results have come from Currie Cup qualifying.“Hadebe has been suspended for four years‚ which is in line with the latest 2015 code from the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). “It was decided that a two-year sanction was too light and that four years constituted an Olympic cycle‚ which is why the punishment was increased.“It was modified because there was evidence that athletes figured out how to manage doping. It was worth the risk to dope with a two-year ban because if it were timed correctly‚ an athlete could be ready for the next Olympics‚ or World Cup.”Galant expressed surprise and concern that such a high number of adverse findings were happening at schoolboy level‚ where testing is stringent. “Over the years junior rugby was where the greatest risk was identified and so we have targeted the Craven Week‚ and Academy Week heavily. We have allocated more testing resources to that level of rugby‚” Galant said.“We do a lot of testing at Craven Week and the Academy Week. We do over 100 tests at each and I’m at a loss as to why there is such a high percentage of players returning positive results. “Maybe players are willing to gamble because the stakes are so high. A Craven Week player can reasonably expect that testing will occur and the odds are not in their favour of escaping.”When it comes to Super Rugby and Test rugby‚ testing is also rigid on match days.“We can test any amount of players at Super Rugby level‚ but we generally test four players – two from each team‚” Galant confirmed.“We target our testing more efficiently rather than random testing. In the past names would be drawn from hats but now we like to make better use of our resources. “Players who come off long-term injuries are often chosen but we don’t want to be predictable.”- TMG Digital..