No player involved in professional rugby in England failed an anti-doping test in 2016-17 for performance‑enhancing drugs but there is concern banned substances are a problem in schools.
The Rugby Football Union published its anti-doping report on Thursday which showed 623 samples were taken at professional level last season, with 87% of the tests coming out of competition. There were 302 samples taken at Premiership clubs for illicit drugs, with one violation.
“We take our responsibility towards anti-doping very seriously and I’m delighted to see that the report yet again has returned a clean bill of health,” said Phil Winstanley, Premiership Rugby’s director of rugby. “Our support for education and our support for the testing programme ensures that we can demonstrate a clean Premiership competition and that our players are committed to a drug-free culture.”
It is the players striving to reach the top level who are exercising the thoughts of the RFU, which this season is focusing on improving awareness in the community game and increasing the number of players who are tested.
Stephen Watkins, manager of the RFU’s anti-doping and illicit drugs programme, said: “The latest findings from our joint research project with Leeds Beckett University shows a lack of awareness in age-grade players, particularly around the use of supplements and therefore raising the risk of vulnerability to doping.
“This, and wider concerns about low awareness around doping and its impact, led us to develop a strategy for anti-doping in the community game. It will see us increase our focus on improving awareness, enhancing education and increasing testing within the community game.”
The Leeds Beckett University research was prompted by a small number of violations and a belief that the school children could be vulnerable to uninformed use of nutritional supplements. In partnership with the RFU, it explored the use of supplements and image-enhancing substances in male adolescent rugby players in a school context.
Three main conclusions were drawn. Nutritional substance use was prevalent among English schoolboys, who reported the highest susceptibility to doping compared with other athletes; the use of banned substances was deemed to be a serious matter in school that needed attention, with players willing to try a risky substance; limited exposure to formal nutritional supplement and anti-doping education left pupils and teachers at risk from inadvertent doping.
