PED use in lower levels of English rugby is rampant - claims source
First-hand testimony claims the use of performance-enhancing drugs in the lower levels of English rugby is rampant and the chances of getting caught minimal.
The story in The Times gives first-hand testimony of a long time steroid user who claims he got away with PED use for years while playing rugby at schools, university and in the lower tiers of English Rugby.
The powerful account claimed the chance of getting caught paled in comparison to increase in performance and the other aesthetic advantages of anabolic steroid use.
The source also claimed that as many as a third of some squads he played for were using some kind of banned performance-enhancing substances.
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The source, who began using in school due to pressure from coaches to get bigger, told The Times that by the time he was playing senior rugby was common in the lower tiers of the English Rugby: “It’s the lads that like to go on holiday to Ibiza or have a sideshow doing powerlifting that use it. Of all the clubs I have been to, tier seven was the worst.
“I would estimate that of a squad of 30, around ten were using a performance enhancer, to varying degrees.”
The source – who played for his county – also told the paper that players joked that should a tester come to their club, they would simply ‘jump the fence’.
“The risk was minimal and the reward was big. I played for my county, so I did it again and again until the risk became bigger and the rewards got smaller. At that point, I had become so numb to risk that it didn’t matter.”
Last month English Rugby was rocked when Wasps backrow Ashley Johnson was suspended after an apparent failed drugs test.
A statement from the club read “The club is aware that a prohibited substance was reportedly found in an out-of-competition doping control sample provided by Ashley Johnson on February 7 2018.”
“He has been provisionally suspended by the RFU pending final determination of the matter and is therefore currently unavailable for selection.”
“Ashley is currently investigating the possible source of the substance and both he and the club are co-operating fully with the RFU in this respect.”
Just days before Johnson, it was revealed that a 20-year-old South African became the first professional player to fail a drugs test in English professional rugby in seven years.
Brandon Staples of Yorkshire Carnegie has been suspended for a period of four years from all sport following the decision of an independent national anti-doping panel.
Staples tested positive for the presence of three steroids including Dehydrochloromethyl-Testosterone, Metandienone and Stanozolol.
The 20-year-old South African was tested after a training session on 9 August 2017 at his club and his urine sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF).
Staples claimed the AAF was a result of consuming a nutritional drink in South Africa while on holiday in May 2017.
Staples maintained that he wasn’t training at the time and that he consumed the protein shake in the belief that it was free from banned substances.
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According to the latest RFU Anti Doping report which was published in February: “In season 2016/17 there were no anti-doping violations within the professional game in England, which is consistent with previous seasons.”
The report shows that 623 samples were taken; 537 of which were urine, while 86 (14 percent) were blood.
Eighty-seven percent of tests were taken out of the competition, with 156 tests being taken during International competitions. The tests were carried out by World Rugby, the RFU and the Six Nations – with the vast bulk (140) being carried out by World Rugby.
The report – which was published before both Johnson and Staples’ cases were made public – bears out the consensus that at the amateur level of the game, PED use is present to a degree.
Of 119 samples collected from amateur rugby, there were three violations, representing nearly 3 percent of players tested. A fourth case is still in ‘the case management process’ and could yet be deemed a violation.
Of the three confirmed violations, two were for anabolic steroid use (Drostanolone) and one was for cocaine. The two found guilty of using steroids were banned for four years, while the player caught with cocaine in their system was banned for two years.
Research undertaken by the RFU involving 987 schoolboys unearthed some worrying trends, especially with regards to perceptions around substances used by young people playing rugby.
Steve Grainger, the RFU’s Rugby Development Director said: “Publication of the latest findings from our joint research project with Leeds Beckett University shows a worrying lack of awareness in age-grade players, particularly around the use of supplements and hence raising the risk of vulnerability to doping.”
The report noted: “Use of banned substances was appraised to be a serious issue in school that needs attention. A degree of willingness to try a ‘risky’ substance was also noted.
“Nutritional supplement use is prevalent among English schoolboys. Schoolboy rugby union players report the highest susceptibility to doping among those sampled, compared with other athletes and non-athletes.”
Comments on RugbyPass
After their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
29 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
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