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Four-year ban given to English grassroots player for doping
By Online Editors
A grassroots player in England has been banned for four years by the RFU for failing a drugs test taken earlier in 2019.
Leigh Dearden, registered as a player for Lincoln RFC, has been banned from all sport for four years following an in-competition test on March 23.
He is banned from the date of his provisional suspensions (May 31, 2019) until May 30, 2023.
Dearden provided a urine sample. That sample was analysed and returned adverse analytical findings for Drostanolone and a metabolite, two metabolites of Oxymetholone, and cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine.
All are prohibited substances and included on the 2018 World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list.
(Continue reading below...)
Dearden was charged with a breach of World Rugby regulation 21.2.1 - ‘Presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers in an athlete’s sample’.
He didn’t provide any evidence to conclude that anti-doping rule violation was not intentional. Given this, he was handed a four-year ban by the national anti-doping panel.
RFU anti-doping and illicit drugs programme manager Stephen Watkins said: “All rugby players are subject to the anti-doping rules which are in place to protect players and the integrity of our sport.”
To read the full judgement, please click here.
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Latest Comments
BB can’t pass? Right…
Go to commentsEven the 20/30 cappers did too I reckon.
IDK, I think Jordan has a limited life span in this side unless he can develop more to his game. Like you go on to mention, I think theyres more important things to worry about than the effectiveness of someone's extra strings, or secondary components to their game.
Bash backs are Fosters thing, and to a large part they've made it work. Theyre now one of the best teams in the world.
They boy's trucked it up a bit against Italy in the redzone, and against France, wasn't that effective without the right players probably.
Try and take a look at it this way. Dissapointed Havili and Blackadder were in the side? Havili despite clearly shown that he can't do what the team needs at 12 was kept on for the RWC. Back goes down and he brings in Blackadder who doesn't play. Refuses to drop Christie when he should and look who starts this season. Beauden Barret not playing well enough to keep his 10 jersey but we gotta keep him in the side. Weve only got one 8, we stuff developing another I'll just play Ardie every game.
This years team wasn't burdened overly with injuries but they were in every position Razor might have wanted to try and development, severely limiting options. I'm not defending Razor as there was also plenty of other opportunity to make up for it and he was a little gunshy, but I'm also not going to overly criticise him because he chose cohesion over a black slate.
I think more and more people are on board with it being time to try alternatives, but then again, how would they have reacted to a loss against Italy? 😉
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