Sharks sign banned Bok
Ralepelle is currently serving the last six months of a two-year ban for a doping offence
"I am pleased to have acquired the services of a hooker with the pedigree of Ralepelle," Sharks Director of Rugby, Gary Gold said.
"He is a brilliant player with a strong work ethic and will be an asset to our squad.
"We look forward to welcoming him to Durban."
The hooker made his Bok debut against New Zealand in Pretoria on 26 August 2006, when he came on as a late substitute, aged just 19. He was capped 22 times for South Africa.
Having played 99 games for the Bulls – in Currie Cup and Super Rugby – Ralepelle joined French giants Toulouse in 2013.
Last month World Rugby confirmed that Ralepelle was slapped with a two-year ban for a doping offence.
The 29-year-old underwent an out-of-competition doping control on 19 March 2014, while recovering from an operation on an anterior cruciate ligament – following a knee injury he sustained while playing for Toulouse against Biarritz in France in February of that year.
The analysis of the sample returned a positive test for a metabolite of an anabolic steroid, drostanolone, which appears in Section S1.1a Anabolic Androgenic Steroids in the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2014 list of prohibited substances.
Following the positive test the player was provisionally suspended and through his legal representatives requested additional time to conduct confidential enquiries in order to prepare his defence.
At the conclusion of those enquiries, a World Rugby judicial committee – chaired by Christopher Quinlan of England – sat on 2 June 2015 and heard all of the evidence in the case.
In considering all aspects of the case, the committee found the player to have committed an anti-doping rule violation.
The committee imposed a two-year suspension, the standard sanction in the circumstances in accordance with World Rugby regulations and the World Anti-Doping Code as in force in 2014.
This suspension was taken as starting from the point of provisional suspension following the positive test and the player is free to play again on 10 April 2016.
Ralepelle initially appealed the imposition of the suspension. However on September 3 this year he elected to discontinue his appeal.
