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Leagues and Governing Bodies

RFU Report Reveals No Pros Failed Doping Tests In '16-17

Premiership Rugby players are tested an average of three times per season.GETTY IMAGES

No player involved in professional rugby in England failed a doping test in '16-17 for performance‑enhancing drugs but there is "concern banned substances are a problem in schools," according to Paul Rees of the London GUARDIAN. 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." Premiership Rugby Dir of Rugby Phil Winstanley said, "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." 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 program, 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" (GUARDIAN, 2/15). The BBC's Chris Jones reported while an England int'l will be tested "between eight and 12" times a season, a Premiership professional "will only be tested around three times on average, and sometimes not at all." Watkins said, "If a player did go a season without being tested, we flag it with UK Anti-Doping [UKAD] and we make sure we pick those players up. This is about having good data analysis on our players so the testing is comprehensive season-on-season." He added that since the '04-05 season, around 7,000 tests for performance- and image-enhancing drugs have been carried out at the "elite end of the sport." Two players at the amateur level were found to have used performance-enhancing drugs during '16-17, while a third case is "still being investigated" (BBC, 2/15).

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