Blow for England as Matt Stevens admits drug use

Matt Stevens, the Bath prop, has been withdrawn from the England squad after admitting in a television interview yesterday that he has failed a drugs test. The player, struggling to keep his emotions in check, said that what had started as a night out with friends had become a habit for which he needed counselling.
But he added that he had taken no performance-enhancing drug and if he can prove that to the satisfaction of any judicial hearing, he could escape a lengthy suspension. The best that Stevens, 26, can hope for is a severe reprimand but no ban; the worst is a two-year ban and a huge slur on his character. Were he to have taken a performance-enhancing drug, the maximum penalty would be a life ban.
The test was made after the Heineken Cup game between Bath and Glasgow Warriors at the Recreation Ground on December 7, in line with the random procedure to which all players in the competition submit. “I was tested for a prohibited substance but it’s not performance-enhancing so you can take what you want from that,” Stevens said, inferring that a “social” drug such as marijuana could be involved. “It’s pretty distressing talking about this. When you think about how much time people have put into my career and I have thrown it away.”
The problem began after what Stevens described as a “big night out” with friends. “It wasn’t a big deal but that’s the problem with drugs, it so quickly became a big deal,” he said. “I owe it to everyone to admit that and that’s what I want to do. I truly am very sorry.” Stevens took counselling but did not take initial advice seriously. He has placed at risk his career with both club and country, and potentially a second tour with the Lions to South Africa this summer. “I want to change my life and hopefully, one day, get the faith back that people had in me,” he said.
The RFU were told by European Rugby Cup Ltd, organisers of the Heineken Cup, that Stevens had failed a test after his A sample had been submitted to a Wada-certified laboratory. Once a violation is confirmed, the player is suspended from all competition and the immediate effect is that Bath, who face a critical pool game against Toulouse at the Recreation Ground on Sunday, will be without one of their two current England internationals.
He has also been removed from England’s elite player squad and will not travel to Portugal on Monday for warm-weather training prior to the RBS Six Nations Championship. Martin Johnson, the manager who confirmed the squad only a week ago, will name a replacement shortly — Julian White, the veteran Leicester prop, is a candidate — and the prospects of Stevens being involved in the championship, which begins for England against Italy on February 7, must be remote.
His admission will be a blow to the RFU, the only member of the International Rugby Board to have a full-time doping officer, Gavin Dovey. Drug-taking is not considered a serious problem within the game but the fact that Dovey is employed indicates that the RFU is not hiding its head in the sand; only last month a Manchester prop, Marshall Gadd, was banned for two years for use of a banned steroid.
Statistics for a five-year period from 2003-08 from UK Sport show that rugby union had 62 positive tests, of which 14 were cleared. Of the remainder, 44 players were banned and four received reprimands. Few of the positive findings involved players at the elite end of the game but when an international player is involved, the negative impact on the game as a whole is far greater.
“We are shocked at this news, which is very out of character for Matt,” Damien Hopley, the chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players’ Association, said. “He had built a reputation as a fine ambassador for the game, who does a tremendous amount of voluntary work for a number of charities and good causes. We will be doing everything we can to provide Matt with the support he needs at this very difficult time.”
source:thelondontimes