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Laporte, Eddie Jones and Growden would have a great night out togther.
Taken From Rugby Heaven (SMH)
Alex Brown in London and Rupert Guinness
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
French rugby coach Bernard Laporte has accused southern hemisphere nations of lax anti-drug procedures and raised the possibility that players could be "exposed to doping".
In an inflammatory statement barely a month out from the World Cup, Laporte said he "could not be sure of anything" in regards to the drug detection methods employed by the SANZAR nations, as well as England. Laporte singled out New Zealand and England for mention, but suggested all southern hemisphere nations could be under suspicion for doping.
"There is regular medical monitoring in France," Laporte told the Daily Mail in England. "The player cannot dope himself. Well, he can but he will be caught. But what is happening in New Zealand or in England? You cannot be sure of anything.
"The only certainty you have is that there are dope tests at international matches. But they are only on urine and you have to go further than that. The more elite rugby there is, as in the southern hemisphere, the more people are exposed to doping."
Laporte's assertions are certain to be met with ire from the nations implicated. Stung by the Frenchman's comments, the English RFU issued a release yesterday defending its anti-doping policy, noting that it was the only union in the world to have appointed its own full-time anti-doping officer. The RFU claimed to have carried out 414 tests during the 2006-07 season, more than half of which were conducted out of competition.
Laporte is set to stand down from the French coaching role at the end of the World Cup to accept a government posting.
In responding to Laporte's claims, the International Rugby Players' Association said it would not oppose stricter drug testing, including across-the-board testing for the endurance drug erythropoietin (EPO), which increases red blood cell counts.
While the IRPA does not believe doping is a major problem in rugby, it is cognisant of the temptation that exists for players to dope, when the demands on endurance become higher as the game becomes faster. It is a trend that threatens to become increasingly prevalent in the years to come as rugby continues to trial the International Rugby Board's experimental law variations, which are aimed at speeding up the game.
"We wouldn't be opposed to EPO testing. I can't see why we would. There is nothing to hide there. We want to stamp out drug cheats," said IRPA chairman Tony Dempsey, also president of the Australian Rugby Union Players' Association. "If we are looking for more effective ways to stamp out drug cheats, then we would have to have open eyes to it, be open to embrace it."
Dempsey said the RUPA was briefed by Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority chief executive Richard Ings about the problems of EPO testing early this year.
"They are trying to catch up with the technology on [testing for] EPO. We had Richard in here early this year to talk about it and explain the challenges that they face, which aren't minimal worldwide in all sports," he said.
"With EPO, you can administer it into your system at 11pm and get it out of your system by 3-4am. The challenge is how do you test somebody at that time of night when they are at home."
However, while willing to support stricter drug testing, Dempsey believes the existing drug controls in rugby union, which are compliant with WADA protocols, are sufficient.
"The players around the world, including the Wallabies, are subject to the WADA code," he said. "The WADA code is very stringent about testing. Testing is wide ranging, fairly random and fairly thorough. It [doping] is not a concern. We don't feel there is a need for further testing over and above what is already being carried out at the moment.
"We are confident that doping and the misuse of drugs in international rugby is not commonly used and not a problem that we need to be concerned about."
Laporte's remarks were savaged in New Zealand. Drugs Free Sports New Zealand chief executive Graeme Steel, New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew and Canterbury NPC coach Rob Penney all hit back at the French coach.
Steel vehemently rejected Laporte's inference that testing in New Zealand was inadequate compared with France.
"It sounds typically French - get your retaliation in first," Steel said yesterday. "I have no idea what prompted those thoughts, because we have programs which are as robust as any in the world, or better, in our view."
Steel said that of the 1600 tests taken by DFSNZ in the year up to June 30, 333 were carried out in and out of competition on players from All Blacks and NPC ranks.
The Wallabies could meet France in a World Cup semi-final on October 14 in Saint-Denis.
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Originally Posted by Seldom
