Gerbrandt Grobler

Gerbrandt Grobler

Personal information
Full name	Douw Gerbrandt Grobler
Born	6 February 1992 Nelspruit, South Africa
Height	2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
Weight	112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
School(s) attended	Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, Pretoria
Club information
Playing position	Lock
Current club	Suspended
Youth career
2010	Blue Bulls
2011–12	Western Province
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Pts)^†
2012–14	Western Province	17	(0)
2013	Stormers	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and points correct as of 3 February 2015. † Appearances (Points).

Douw Gerbrandt Grobler is a South African rugby union player, whose regular position is lock.^[1] He played with Western Province and the Stormers between 2012 and 2014, but is currently serving a two-year ban following a positive drugs test.

Career

Youth

He went to Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria and represented the Blue Bulls at the 2010 Craven Week.^[2]

He then moved to Cape Town to join Western Province. He played for the Western Province U19 team in the 2011 Under-19 Provincial Championship and for the Western Province U21 team in the 2012 and 2013 Under-21 Provincial Championships.

Western Province / Stormers

He was included in the Western Province squad for the 2012 Vodacom Cup and made his debut in their 42–31 Quarter Final victory over the Free State XV.^[3]

He made three more first class appearances for Western Province in the 2013 Vodacom Cup before being included on the bench for the Stormers' Super Rugby game against the Cheetahs.^[4] He remained unused for that match, but made his Super Rugby debut the following week, playing off the bench in a 22–15 victory over the Sharks in Cape Town.^[5] After another spell with the Vodacom Cup side, where he made a further four starts, he returned to the Super Rugby side to make his first start in the competition against the Reds^[6] and eventually making a total of five appearances in the competition.

He made his Currie Cup debut in August 2013, starting in Western Province's 24–24 draw with the Blue Bulls in the opening round of the 2013 Currie Cup Premier Division season.^[7] He made a further six appearances as a reserve in the remainder of the tournament, but then suffered an ankle injury that ruled him out of the play-off stages, as well as the majority of the 2014 season.

He made his return to the side in October 2014, starting their final regular season match against the Sharks.^[8] He also played off the bench in the final, helping Western Province win the title by beating the Golden Lions 19–16.^[9]

Drugs ban

In February 2015, it was revealed that Grobler received a two-year ban from the sport after failing a drugs test. The South African Institute for Drug Free Sport confirmed that Grobler tested positively for the anabolic steroid drostanolone after a match in October 2014 during the 2014 Currie Cup Premier Division. Grobler admitted his guilt and received a ban for two years, effective until October 2016.^{[10][11][12][13]}

References

1. "Player Profile Gerbrandt Grobler". sarugby.net. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
2. "Match Breakdown: Lions vs Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
3. "DHL Western Province vs Toyota Free State XV". South African Rugby Union. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
4. "Stormers stick with Jantjies". Sport24. 3 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
5. "Match Breakdown: Stormers vs Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
6. "Match Breakdown: Stormers vs Reds". South African Rugby Union. 25 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
7. "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Vodacom Blue Bulls". South African Rugby Union. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
8. "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Cell C Sharks". South African Rugby Union. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
9. "Match Breakdown: DHL Western Province vs Xerox Golden Lions". South African Rugby Union. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
10. "WP se steroïed-skok" (in Afrikaans). Netwerk24. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
11. "Stormers rocked by drug shock". SuperSport. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
12. "Drug shock overwhelms WP fête". Rugby365. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
13. "WP Rugby statement – 03/02/15". Western Province. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.