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.”