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'If a player gets caught taking drugs it should be a jail sentence because you're stealing a living'

(Photos by Getty Images)

Gavin Henson believes the suggestion by ex-Wales coach Warren Gatland that a player may have taken performance-enhancing drugs during his long stint in charge should have resulted in a full-blown investigation. 

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Gatland, who made the remark over the winter during a promotional interview for his new book, eventually played down what he had said, suggesting that what he had hinted was merely dressing room banter. 

But Henson, who earned 13 of his 33 Wales caps under Gatland, insisted the issue should not be trivialised. Now retired from playing, the 38-year-has been forging a new career for himself as a village pub owner in St Brides Major just outside Bridgend.   

Speaking to walesonline.co.uk in an extensive midweek interview, the two-time Grand Slam winner and 2005 Lions tourist claimed any inkling regarding performance-enhancing drugs must be taken seriously. 

“I’ve been in an environment where the drug testers come in and there are one or two boys who run out. That’s happened at professional level,” he revealed. “How it is acceptable, I don’t know, but as a player, you can’t do anything about it.

“Of course it made me angry. Boys are cheating and those kinds of things give you such an advantage. There are boys who have had careers on the back of taking stuff that has cost other players international places, or even club team places, which is really lucrative.

“For me, I feel the rule that should be in place is if you get caught taking drugs it should be a jail sentence because you are stealing a living. You are taking money from someone else. One or two boys were quite open and honest about it but there is no proof.

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“There was always changing room talk but unless you are a doctor or something you can’t prove it. For a coach to say what Gatland did, I felt like there should be an investigation, but there we go.”

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Ed the Duck 1 hour ago
Can Les Bleus avoid a Black-wash in New Zealand?

Florian Grill, President FFR 20.5.2025


https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360695274/french-rugby-boss-says-les-bleus-stars-could-tour-they-target-series-win-against-all-blacks


“French rugby is indeed based on a unique model, built around the Top 14 - a championship of exceptional intensity - and an ambitious national team, This demanding model places a significant physical and mental toll on players throughout the season. We therefore have a major responsibility: to look after their physical and mental health and to ensure they have essential rest periods. In this context, the selection for the July tour is based on two clear principles. First, an in-depth analysis conducted by the French team staff evaluates the players’ physical integrity, fatigue level, and current performance level in order to build a squad that is both strong and mindful of the players’ balance. Second, the formation of the group also respects a regulatory framework, jointly defined by the FFR and the LNR, which notably states that players who participate in the Top 14 final are not eligible for selection for a summer tour. However, exceptions are possible and are currently being discussed with the LNR.”


So there’s a few things to take from that where it’s clear that the Top 14 fixtures are at the core of the issue. It appears that the 2000 minutes or 25 games parameters are likely to be part of the “regulatory framework, jointly defined by the FFR and the LNR” but it’s also clear that this has been considered alongside a bespoke analysis of each players situation, for the purposes of NZ tour selection, and NOT applied in a rigid and homogenous style. Factors including the level/intensity of matches played, timing of match load across the season, injury profile and date of season end will all have been reviewed, alongside many others no doubt.


The comparison with Englands experience is particularly relevant since it also highlights the current difference between the two countries’ league relationship with their union. The RFU have reached an (expensive) agreement with the GP that has taken many years to evolve and, critically, hands full season playing control of a designated group of 25 Test players to the England coach. The French agreements do not operate in the same way, where playing control sits with the clubs outside of the Test windows and this is key to the issues.


The difficulty for France however is that the Top 14 needs the weekend numbers that it needs and it’s not immediately clear how they can reduce them. The extension of their final has happened in conjunction with reducing 6N/AI overlap but they still haven’t managed to fully eliminate this. While it’s not clear how these issues can be easily or quickly resolved, it is very clear that the problem can not be simply defined as France disrespecting international rugby.

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