Is rugby one of the most drug-free sports?

Well, are we all fooling ourselves? The International Board has announced that in the tournament to date, there have been no positive returns for performance-enhancing or recreational drugs - and this in one sport in which the pressure, intensity, physicality and demands might be seen as ripe for drug cheats.

People might scoff, and say that it is obvious that team A or player B are on something. But why, in a world as relatively uneducated as rugby in these matters, are there so few positive tests and why in sports where drug taking has been rife for decades - cycling, athletics - and where the athletes should be far cleverer, are there so many?

The IRB have introduced blood tests for the first time. The testers arrived unannounced at the headquarters of all four semi-finalists for random testing and they tested five from each of the four squads. We await the results.

They have also conducted random out-of-competition testing around all teams and all qualifiying events. For heaven's sake, they have also stored samples for future use so that when a test for the taking of human growth hormone becomes available, they will be able to test restrospectively. Wada, the body supervising the fight against drugs in sport, has commended the IRB operations and procedures.

Yes, we may well all have to eat our words if a bunch of the semi-finalsts tests are positive. But I doubt it. I also doubt that the lack of positive tests is because the players are too clever.

In my opinon, is is far more to do with the fact that rugby is the most honest of sports. I feel strongly that if a player discovered informally that a colleague was using drugs, he would be revolted by it, tell him to get clean, even inform on him.

Rugby is an arena where you take the victory and the defeat, treat the imposters just the same. And in which the taking of unfair advantage is anathema. Let's see. Let's not count our chickens. But the sense of fairness that has pervaded this entire event is unlikely to be tainted, either on the field or in the laboratories

Comments

[Richard]

Good afternoon,

I posted a comment yesterday morning- it would appear it has not been approved. Does Stephen Jones moderate his own blog replies?

Regards,

Richard O'Toole

[Dave Buzza]

Come off it. A certain South African board member resigned a year or two back as they kept hiding positive tests. Rugby is bound to have a problem as a) there's lots of money these days b) power, strength and speed are major advantages and c) endurance is as well, so EPO can come into the equation. Undoubtedly some players take drugs - hopefully a minority. To pretend otherwise is totally ridiculous. Likewise with football - the last I heard the testers had to phone the club to tell them they were testing that day and could only test those who were training. Anyone worried just says they're injured and site it out! And Rio still messed it up!!