The fatal IRFU systems flaw exposed by James Cronin's doping breach
Things couldn’t have worked out better for Munster and the IRFU regarding the curious tale of James Cronin and his slapstick doping violation. If ever there was a perfect week to bury the bad news this was it. In the old way of life, the bizarre case which the high profile Irish province made public on Monday would have run and run and caused a media/online storm, not died a very quick shrug-of-the-shoulders death in the sports reporting vacuum that currently exists due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the old normal, we would have been smack bang in the business end of the season and Munster, who were due at arch-rivals Leinster last weekend, would not have Cronin available for the last month of the Guinness PRO14.
Deemed ineligible for a one-month period from April 15 to May 16 the loosehead would have missed four matches under normal circumstances, the derby in Dublin followed by Saturday’s trip to Limerick by Glasgow, a Murrayfield visit to face main conference rivals Edinburgh followed by another jump across the Irish sea, this time to take on the Scarlets in Llanelli.
Instead, with rugby around the globe indefinitely suspended and fans naturally preoccupied with the pandemic more than the game, the punishment meted out on April 15 – and only revealed by Munster five days later on April 20 – amounted to a meaningless slap on the wrist for an unintentional anti-doping rule violation that was the result of a third-party dispensing error by a pharmacy. ‘Nothing to see here, folks. Let’s quickly move on’ was the general reaction to the story, but its detail is too unusual to be so lightly dismissed.
Anti-doping cases are very infrequent at European level. The various domestic leagues – the PRO14, Top 14 and Premiership – are more likely to pick up on any breaches given there are just nine European weekends every year so for that fact alone, this Cronin incident is worth teasing out. Not since Matt Stevens’ cocaine bust way back in February 2009 have the European rugby authorities had to deal with an anti-doping case. Misconduct charges, citing and red cards are the usual run of the mill fare.
Munster Rugby and @IrishRugby have issued a statement following the EPCR disciplinary decision in relation to James Cronin.
CEO Ian Flanagan said: “This has been an extremely challenging time for James and the province, and we are glad it has reached its conclusion."
More ??
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) April 20, 2020
Then there is the Munster aspect to this. Not since Frankie Sheahan got himself in all sorts of bother further back in 2003 after a medic failed to tick the correct box on a therapeutic use exemption form for an asthma inhaler has the province had a doping case to answer at Heineken Cup level. Sheahan was initially banned for two years for high levels of salbutamol in a urine sample given following a semi-final loss at Toulouse. It took a seven-hour appeal hearing to get that punishment reduced to three months, freeing him to feature for Ireland at that year’s World Cup in Australia.
Now, 17 years later, we were back in the realms of another absence of a player therapeutic use exemption. Cronin’s career has never generated much headlines. A 29-year-old capped three times off the Ireland bench by ex-boss Joe Schmidt, 66 of the prop’s 124 appearances for Munster, whom he is contracted with through to summer 2021, have been as a replacement, dating back to an April 2013 debut versus Leinster. He is a popular fella on the terraces despite this regular back-up role, an old-school dog of a hard Munster forward who leaves it all out there whenever he gets his chance.
Now, though, he has been given a prominence for all the wrong reasons. Feeling unwell prior to a match versus Racing 92 which ended in a draw (the game where the visiting Finn Russell dramatically nutmegged Rory Scanell), he was prescribed the antibiotic, Amoxicillin, by Munster team doctor Jamie Kearns, who made dubious headlines last December for sparking an Allianz Park brawl following a verbal altercation with Saracens’ Jamie George.
When Cronin visited the pharmacy he was dispensed medication that was allegedly intended for another customer. The result? Prednisolone and prednisone – corticosteroids – were found in his sample, substances he had no permission to use. What followed was a drawn out saga. It wasn’t until February 19, 88 days after the match in Limerick, that EPCR formally issued their notice of charge against Cronin. Another 56 days were to pass before judgement was eventually handed down. All in, a not inconsiderable 144 days from pillar to post during which Cronin continued to play matches, making six appearances, two coming in the December European games versus Saracens.
This passage of time made the five-page EPCR verdict compulsory reading, its investigation and decision set out in 29 sub-sections by Anthony Davies, the single legal member of the disciplinary panel. That was, of course, once you eventually found the written decision on the European Cup own website.
The news section of the tournament’s official website made no mention of the Cronin decision, instead focusing on semi-final nostalgia and advertised a Champions Rugby Show podcast featuring Jamie Heaslip, the retired Leinster and Ireland player who had his own scrape with doping headlines last autumn when an incident recounted in his autobiography didn’t factually stand up to scrutiny and resulted in a clarification issued via his publisher.
Paul Kimmage: 'Jamie Heaslip has finally spoken… but forgive me if I was expecting more'
https://t.co/G9ZJvPrRVV pic.twitter.com/RXn5MVhnZY— Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) November 4, 2019
Despite two bits of information being redacted – one concerning the probable identity of the pharmacy, the other regarding the labels on the product packaging – the devil of the detail in Cronin’s escapade should worry players the world over. While the prop was essentially exonerated in that he is now serving a short ban where he won’t miss any games, it was still determined that he bore at least some fault for the violation after he was dispensed two medications, Germentin (a trading name for Amoxicillin) and Prednesol 5mg tablets, of which he took nine – five in one dose and four in another – before the match.
That he landed in bother for unwittingly taking the banned Prednesol should concern his contemporaries given how rugby players, by their nature, are effectively institutionalised during the career, living their lives to a very detailed structure handed down by their clubs and told what they can and can’t do. There are intrinsically not allowed to think for themselves so when Cronin was prescribed drugs, he understandably took the prognosis in good faith.
For a sport that tries so very hard to pride itself on its anti-doping message amid whispers that rugby isn’t entirely as clean as it perceives itself, the calamity that subsequently unfolded for Cronin begs the question why an organisation such as the IRFU relies on a third party – busy pharmacies local to its players around Ireland – to dispense medicines?
Reading the Cronin verdict, the IRFU should really consider taking these third parties out of the equation and set up their own in-house pharmacy to administer the various legally prescribed drugs to players. That way they take control, safeguarding players by not having them venture outside their rugby bubble to deal with busy people working in pharmacies who can – as evident here – make unexpected mistakes that have awkward consequences.
This outside link was Cronin’s downfall, Davies’ verdict outlining how the player didn’t have a copy of the prescription that had been emailed by the Munster team doctor to the pharmacy. Instead, he just collected what he was given over the counter after he said who he was, never questioning why on this occasion there were two sets of medication and not just one as was the case when previously prescribed Amoxicillin.
The verdict suggested that Cronin should have been of a mind to google Prednesol, the second medicine he had been given, before taking it as it would have revealed it is prohibited in sport at certain times. Thing is, how often do players – particular 24 hours before a match – ever take these matters into their own hands given how institutionalised they are and reliant on the advice of the experts involved with their teams? Rarely, you’d imagine.
Despite a virtuoso display by Finn Russell, Racing 92 left Limerick with a draw as Munster refused to accept defeat…
?? Munster 21-21 Racing 92 ??
All the action from a #HeinekenChampionsCup cracker at Thomond Park ? pic.twitter.com/ATUr3TzhWI
— Rugby on BT Sport (@btsportrugby) November 24, 2019
“I have sympathy for the player in this case,” wrote Davies. “While the violation could have been avoided had the player put better safeguards in place, it is clear the player’s violation was the result of a very serious (and unexpected) mistake by a pharmacy. The player saw his name on the product packaging and understandably assumed that it was the medication prescribed to him by his team doctor. He had obtained medication prescribed by his team doctor at the same pharmacy previously without issue. Therefore, it was a careless but understandable mistake… I’m of the view that the player’s level of fault was low.”
Low, but enough all the same to land Cronin in a whole heap of unnecessary trouble where the focus now rests on Munster and the way they go about medicating their players in the future.
Comments on RugbyPass
“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
3 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
2 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
3 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
2 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments