RFU plan to test for recreational drugs

RUGBY UNION players in England are set to become the first in the world to be tested for cocaine and other social drugs outside of competition.

The current World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) policy permits players to be tested for cocaine only on match days.

But the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) are working on a new illicit drugs policy, in conjunction with Premier Rugby and the players’ union, that would also make out-of-competition testing a contractual obligation.

RFU anti-doping officer Gavin Dovey, who organised a conference at Twickenham last month to address the issue, said: “English rugby is at the forefront of the anti-doping campaign under the Wada code, but it is clear that the current Wada regulatory framework does not provide us with the mechanism to best manage that risk and what is essentially a social, health and welfare issue.”

The programme is backed by the Professional Rugby Players’ Association and would see the players include a clause in their contracts making them available for testing under both the Wada code and the RFU’s code.

The finer details are still being ironed out, but the RFU’s code would not carry the same two-year sanction as the Wada policy, but would most probably operate on a series of strikes.

The idea is to educate players away from the use of social drugs rather than impose stringent, two-year bans.

“Figures show that the use of illicit drugs is most prevalent in males aged 16-34, which almost exactly matches our playing population,” said Premier Rugby director Phil Winstanley. “We would be arrogant to imagine that our players are not at risk and doing nothing is not an option.”

Professional Rugby Players’ Association chief executive Damian Hopley is a strong believer that rugby should adopt an illicit drugs policy.

“The players wholeheartedly support the development of an illicit drugs policy in rugby,” he said. “They feel the image and reputation of the game have been tarnished by recent events and, by formulating and implementing a robust policy, we will demonstrate a clear stance against illicit drug use in rugby.”