surprise surprise

and this is news?

Read about this years ago.

Bit harsh to just refer to Scottish rugby. Seen many English players who show every sign of PED use except for a positive test result.

See also Jonny Spelman.

Is it just within Rugby or all of Warwickshire? I’d be looking for solid evidence to cement those claims.

I love that we have a news headline and story about widespread drug abuse in rugby based on what some mates of a 19 year old said to him.

Then, right near the bottom, we have the results of 800 random tests in 3 years which showed one bloke took a slimming pill and another took a weight gain supplement.

Now that’s widespread.

Rugbyist are so much bigger and faster and stronger than in the past because they’re being “professional” and are “preparing” properly.

Well the PEDs aren’t working – the Scots are hopeless.

Anyway, if you want big, look at the forwards in some of the NRL sides.

I guarantee that every player at our club would test positive for IPA.

Shameful.

Yep, mainly ethanol solutions when I played.

Seen many English players who show every sign of PED use except for a positive test result.

Bit harsh just to refer to the English. Have you seen the welsh team? Have you seen the popularity of steroids in South Wales?

Good reliable source…the one that got caught!!

Bit harsh to just refer to the Welsh Wrecker, have you seen the Irish.

Never mind the home nations; have you seen the South Africans?

Bit harsh to just refer to the Welsh Wrecker, have you seen the Irish.

Care to elaborate?

Never mind the home nations; have you seen the South Africans?

I rugby toured SA as a school boy and steroids were rife in schools rugby out there.

In Ireland there was no steroid culture that I was aware of, I was 17 stone through beef, creatine and weights

I was 17 stone through beef, creatine and weights

Lol at Rich I had that poster on my door as a student!!

Endemic in league for years surely? Rel low profile of the game means no one’s that arsed and there’s sort of a tacit agreement with the consumer in any case – like a small scale NFL. The paying customer wants to see exceptionally strong, agressive and fast athletes who can play for 80 minutes.

Stands to reason that it will permeate RU now that being strong, fast and aggressive has become relevant to the game. The higher national profile might mean it gets dealt with though.

I rugby toured SA as a school boy and steroids were rife in schools rugby out there.

Care to elaborate?

It was a joke you big melon.

I rugby toured SA as a school boy and steroids were rife in schools rugby out there.

Care to elaborate?

Ok. I was on a month long tour and we played some of the top SA school sides. To keep costs down we lived with the families of the lads we played against. At 3 of the 7 schools we played I was told quite openly about the supplements that the players were taking, even some of the parents were involved as they wanted the status of their kid playing for the schools 1st XV.

Apologies AA 😀

Any chance of spilling the beans about which supplements and the names of the schools you played against?
Just curious because I went to one of the best rugby schools ( if not The best ) in SA.

Rugby players make up more or less the largest block of sanctioned players by the UK anti doping agency.

Sputnik I’d prefer to not name the individual schools but they were in Durban, Grahamstown and Paarl. It was nandrolone that was used IIRC

Sounds like you had decent trip, all nice places you mention.
I went to Grey College in Bloemfontein , matriculated in 87.

When I trained in gyms all the local rugby lads were using the same drugs as everyone else. When I trained in a major rugby club’s own gym it was the same story.

Drug use is (or was in the 90s) the norm.

I can categorically state that I only ever took performance reducing drugs!!

Why is there any surprise?

The amount of beer and public nakedness, even at the highest level, was always a continued surprise for me.

I bought up the subject with someone I work with, who’s married to a premiership player. She got very up tight, and very defensive very quickly. Not that this proves anything of course, just found it a bit odd…

The worry IMO is the way in which pressure has filtered down ages and standards in so many sports. Rugby and cycling are not alone.

I’m certain that that’s correct thm.

The worry IMO is the way in which pressure has filtered down ages and standards in so many sports. Rugby and cycling are not alone.

I’m not sure pressure is the right term. A magic bullet that makes you bigger, stronger, leaner, faster… it’s all very attractive stuff. Drinking beer sound far less tempting in comparison.

Rugby and cycling are not alone.

Absolutely, look at athletics, NFL, baseball, boxing and that’s not even mentioning the strength/size comps (bodybuilding even has “natural” categories FFS) There’s no way Soccer is anywhere near clean either.
It’s another downside to rugby becoming professional IMHO. People are making money from it. If James Haskell has never taken PEDs then I’ll eat my all-stars.

bodybuilding even has “natural” categories FFS

Power lifting has “tested” events too. Not sure what FFS is about. It seems pragmatic.

For the few that want to compete in a tested sport they can. For everyone else they can compete at their full potential and put on a show.

Someones full potential is a completely different thing to their synthetically enhanced self. Mr Olympia is touted as “tested” and hence implied to be made up of clean athletes 😆
If you take this line, then you may as well apply it to Lance as the sport was full to the brim with dopers operating to their “full potential”.
I’m not on a high horse about it; people can take what they like. Just be open about it.

Mr Olympia is touted as “tested”

Are you sure? I must be out of touch. It wasn’t 10 years ago. It certainly won’t be tested, obviously.

I’m not on a high horse about it; people can take what they like. Just be open about it.

Sounds good to me.

It’s the perfect environment for developing drugs to keep us fit in our old age. Look at Al Beckles.