A 4th Welsh player has been banned by UK Anti-Doping in the space of a month
UK Anti-Doping have revealed that a fourth Welsh player has been banned this past month after testing positive for using illegal drugs, Merthyr's Adam Hoskins joined a list containing Ystalyfera's Jesse Patton, Aberavon's Mike Burgess and Ebbw Vale's Lance Randall.
UKAD collected a urine sample from Hoskins in-competition on January 3 this year following a match between Ebbw Vale and Merthyr. Analysis of the A sample returned an adverse analytical finding for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine.
Issued with a notice of charge and a provisional suspension on February 3, Hoskins was charged with violating article 2.1 of the anti-doping rules (ADR) - presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample.
In admitting the anti-doping rule violation, Hoskins explained that the adverse finding was the result of cocaine used out-of-competition in a context unrelated to sport performance.
Cocaine is listed under section S6(a) non-specified stimulants of the WADA 2020 prohibited list, which states that the substance is banned in-competition only.
Stacey Cross, UKAD’s deputy director of legal and regulatory Affairs said: “When athletes choose to take recreational drugs, they not only risk breaking the law and endangering their health, but a ban from sport too. Athletes need to be aware that if they use cocaine out-of-competition and later compete in sport, they may face a lengthy ban if the drug is still in their system when tested.”
Considering Hoskins’ admission, anti-doping rule article 10.11.2 applied in his sanction. His two-year period of ineligibility started on January 3, 2020 (the date of his test), and will expire at midnight on January 2, 2022.
UK Anti-doping had revealed in the past month that two other Welsh Premiership players tested positive for cocaine, Ebbw Vale lock Randall and Aberavon prop Burgess, who were each handed two-year bans.
Ystalyfera's Patton, though, received a four-year ban on July 6 and will not be allowed to play again until November 2023 following his ban after he tested positive for metendienone, which is classified as an anabolic androgenic steroid.
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Finau is definitely operating on razor thin margins. He hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. But a player going into contact 6 inches lower than he is expecting, without him even knowing, will end in disaster. You can imagine a situation where the pass dies on Edmed and he has to bend down a little lower to catch it at the last second. Finau’s hit would have been catastrophic. The margins are just too fine. He needs to study how PSDT, at 6’7”, manages to drop his tackle height and exert just as much force with close zero danger of taking someone’s head off. Given how poorly NZ has adapted to lower their tackle height, and that this issue which has plagued the ABs for years and played a big part in them not winning the World Cup, I thought NZR and all SR coaches would be prioritising sorting this issue out. If I was Razor I would be on the phone to Clayton MacMillan and Samipeni Finau saying exactly that. Finau is a monster and shaping up to be the closest thing to Kaino since Kaino, but I wouldn’t risk selecting him for the ABs at the moment.
Go to commentsThe surprising stat I saw in the Blues game when showing Sotutu equaling the Blues forwards record was that Akira has not scored a try since 2019. Now my memory is pretty bad when it comes to those sorts of the things, I can remember his AB try though, but anyway I can’t see I can remember his last blues touchdown or any in recent years. Surely that still has to be a bogus stat. Maybe excludes SRA games?
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