DOPING TRIBUNAL: Wallaby winger Ben Tune has been cleared of any deliberate wrong-doing by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) anti-doping tribunal in Sydney. He will therefore be free to play for Australia in their final Tri-Nations match against South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday, although the Dublin-based International Rugby Board (IRB) will still have the final say.

Tune's career has been under a cloud since it was revealed in a Brisbane newspaper that in March last year he had been administered the banned masking agent probenecid as part of his treatment for an infected knee.

He played two Super 12 matches for Queensland before it was discovered that probenecid, which is used to accelerate the effects of antibiotics, was an illegal substance.

Subsequently, Queensland rested him from Super 12 rugby, but neither they, nor the ARU, informed the IRB, as they should have done. As a result, Tune was facing the possibility of a two-year ban.

But now he can catch up with his team-mates, who left for South Africa on Sunday, after the ARU anti-doping tribunal decided he was innocent of any deliberate offence.

A statement from the ARU said: "The anti-doping tribunal of the Australian Rugby Union has found that Wallaby winger Ben Tune breached the doping by-laws when he was administered the prohibited substance probenecid.

"The player took advice of well-respected medical practitioners, including his official team doctor and an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, and acted openly and honestly at all times, including notifying the ARU and the Australian Sports Drug Agency that probenecid had been prescribed because it was necessary medically. Accordingly, the tribunal declined to apply a sanction."

But the IRB are not prepared to rubber-stamp the ruling until the ARU explain the mechanics of the decision. An IRB statement said they would be seeking clarification that the full facts of the case were presented to the ARU tribunal.

The IRB may then either accept the result or refer the matter to an independent appeal board. In the meantime, Tune is still likely to be available for this weekend's match.