Schoolboy rugby players to face anti-doping drug tests

SCHOOLBOY RUGBY players are to face tests for performance-enhancing drugs under a new plan agreed between sports authorities.

Talks between the Irish Sports Council and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) on the issue of testing players in schools and underage club rugby have been ongoing for some years. But both parties have now agreed to construct a policing framework that will include player education and testing.

Dr Una May, head of anti-doping at the sports council, said: “We already test at that level in sports like swimming and gymnastics. Rugby is one of the sports where we didn’t have access to players of a younger age. We have been in discussion with the IRFU for a long time and we both felt it was an appropriate time to put procedures in place.

“We are currently finalising how this can be best achieved in terms of, not alone testing, but educating young athletes. This is not a long-term project and we would be confident that we will have in place within the next few months.”

Initial testing will be carried out at elite, or international, level and over time will be applied to other levels, including interprovincials and schools cup matches.

Dr May said testers would not go into schools but would rather carry out checks at rugby fixtures.

She said she was aware that earlier this year four players at South Africa’s top schoolboy competition tested positive for anabolic steroids and potentially faced bans of up to two years. Doping control tests at South Africa’s annual interprovincial tournament, which were carried out on 47 per cent of the participants, saw the quartet test positive.

Two of the results also showed high levels of testosterone and these tests have been sent off for further analysis to Germany to verify whether the levels of testosterone were due to external sources, or naturally produced by the body, according to Khalid Galant, chief executive of the Institute for Drug-Free Sport. He noted that four positives translated into an 8.5 per cent offence rate, which was a serious cause for concern.

Dr May said the decision to test teenage rugby players would not necessarily be followed by the same regime in soccer and Gaelic games. She pointed out that the council examined sports that could potentially pose a higher risk. Aside from steroids, the dangers of supplements such as creatine have long been a concern for dieticians, physicians and parents. She also stressed that the council would be embarking on a wide-ranging campaign to educate young athletes in terms of best practice and nutrition.