Are springboks the only team to have tasted the forbidden fruit?
In the past month, the news that the Springbok players Chiliboy Ralepelle and Bjorn Basson were tested positive for a banned substance has made it to the front pages of all well established newspapers. Never before has violation of international rugby laws
aroused so much comment and enthusiastic debate. Prominent players and coaches from all of the major teams in the rugby union have come out in strong condemnation of the Springboks and have severely reproved them for having brought rugby a bad name. But if
the history of rugby were to be examined it would reveal that drug abuse is not at all an exclusively South African phenomenon.
In 1999 Lawrence Dallaglio, the former English player resigned his captaincy after being accused of having taken and distributed hard drugs. His actions led him to be fined by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) for an amount of 15000 pounds. Michael Lipman,
Alex Crockett and Andrew Higgins the former Bath trio also played their part in defaming rugby when they were caught taking drugs in 2009. The trio quit Bath after the news of their drug usage leaked. They were subsequently banned from rugby by the RFU for
a period of nine months. Although the England international Michael Lipman tried to later defend himself saying that the allegations raised against him were “scurrilous and unsubstantiated”, the RFU knew better and acted accordingly. Matt Stevens, another
player for England has also been charged with drug abuse after failing drug tests and has been given a two year ban from rugby till January 2011. England clearly lights up like a charismas tree when inspected for drug abuse and therefore has no place pointing
fingers at the Springboks who could be considered relatively innocent.
Australia too has contributed its fair share of martyrs to the cause of rugby. Ben Tune tested positive for probenecid in 2001 although he was allowed to go scot-free claiming ignorance. That particular excuse does seem to be used quite often by drug offenders
and hopefully shall be outlawed one of these days. Another Australian renegade is Wendel Sailor who was tested positive in 2006 for cocaine. The Australian rugby authorities tore up his half-million-dollar-per-year contract and ostracized him from rugby although
he was later allowed to return after he had cleaned up.
The trail goes all the way to Fiji. Fiji’s famous player Rupeni Caucaunibuca was also suspended for three months in 2007 after being tested positive for cannabis. Scotland’s face too is fully freckled with the evidence of drug abuse. Scotland’s former forward
Scott MacLeod was underwent investigations when he tested positive twice in 2008 but was luckily cleared both times without major repercussions. Mathieu Loree from the Racing Metro was caught this year only after he was tested positive for cannabis and was
banned from the game for four months.
Keeping everything in perspective it would seem that players from almost teams have at some point or other bypassed the laws by taking drugs and therefore the strong condemnation that the Springboks have been facing from the press as well as other teams
is somewhat uncalled for. Rather, players from other teams should put up a sympathetic front considering their own proclivities.
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