Modern rugby

[Borracho]

Modern rugby

Janik wrote: No more so than most other sports. Rugby certainly has the potential for a steroids problem. But the level of evidence presented so far barely rises above gossipy innuendo. Circumstantial evidence like players being bigger and faster than ten years ago is next to useless, because the same holds true for 95% of sports.

As with others, it needs a Balco or a Betsy Andreu to move from spiteful rumour to worthy allegation.

I just saw this. They're not merely "bigger". They're about 20% bigger and heavier than just ten years ago. That's a quantum leap.

[Flynnie]

Modern rugby

I remember articles about rugby having a drug problem ten years ago.

Yes, there's no hard evidence, indeed. And it was always understandable that rugby players would get bigger in the ten years after professional + a general weightlifting revolution in sports (doping aside in many sports, the 90s definitely saw the "weightlifting is bad for you, pro athlete" mindset die a death). But rugby players have only got bigger since then.

Let's not forget as well that rugby is a decentralised game compared to cycling or baseball, so there are more dark places for people to hide. I mean, how much attention are we paying to South African rugby?

[Etienne]

Modern rugby

I think Janik has the balance of proof wrong in this instance. There has been so much evidence of drug-taking in sport that the de facto assumption should be that a sport is riddled with drug abuse unless they have a proper drug-testing regime.

Those that don't, like rugby, cricket, tennis and football, are therefore probably heavily populated with people who have taken prohibited substances.

[Toro Toro]

Modern rugby

What evidence is there that it doesn't have "a proper drug-testing regime"?

It doesn't have the kind of testing regime that, say, cycling does.

But first, that regime isn't enough for Green Calx to take cycling seriously. Second, rugby doesn't prima facie need it, because it doesn't have the extensive history of proven cheating that cycling does. And third, the point about a burden of proof is at least debatable. There is no reason at all to think that rugby players have got bigger in the last two decades than you would have expected them to get without any doping at all, given other factors involved.

[Cesar Rodriguez]

Modern rugby

I wouldn't pay much heed to Green Calx's musings on the subject of drugs in rugby. His opinions on the matter are a reflection of his contempt for the sport rather than anything evidential.

[Borracho]

Modern rugby

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[Borracho]

Modern rugby

Paul Kimmage @PaulKimmage · 23m 23 minutes ago
1/4 The most interesting moment on @RTESatnightshow? The lady purporting to be from @WorldRugby who accosted me after the show.

Paul Kimmage @PaulKimmage · 20m 20 minutes ago
2/4 "You're talking through your hat," she said. "There's no doping in rugby and we've made great progress on concussion." She had my ear...

Paul Kimmage @PaulKimmage · 19m 19 minutes ago
3/4 for a moment and then she says "I know what your problem is...it's just sour grapes because of the @BrianODriscoll book."

Paul Kimmage @PaulKimmage · 14m 14 minutes ago
4/4 Hope this lady doesn't work for you @WorldRugby because if this is how you engage with serious issues your sport is fucked.

[The Bean Counter]

Modern rugby

Surely it's no secret that at schools level the use/abuse of creatine and similar substances to help kids bulk up is fairly widespread now? A lot of these are kids who are young enough they should not be doing serious bodybuilding full stop.

This could of course be interpreted two ways. One, as toro and others suggest, the fact that gym work, conditioning and strengthening is now a fundamental part of the game, that is much more widely understood and players are starting to practice many years before they become pro, accounts for the increase in player mass. The other argument is, is if schools players are prepared to risk their long term health by taking inappropriate supplements to bulk up for the game, what are the professionals likely to do?

I'd be very surprised if rugby has doping problem on anything like the scale of cycling, but equally, I'd be surprised if there's no doping going on at all.