Return a boost for Tuipulotu and Blues
Exonerated All Black lock vindicated as spotlight turns on to US laboratory
However happy and relieved Patrick Tuipulotu may have been to be exonerated of a doping charge yesterday, Blues coach Tana Umaga was probably celebrating more.
As much as it put Tuipulotu’s season back on track, it also lifted the potential fortunes of the Blues, who were beginning to feel a level of angst about how they would bolster their locking resources.
But they have no need to worry about that now, as Tuipulotu has been cleared to resume training and playing with immediate affect after his B-sample tested negative. That result ended two months of frustration and difficulty for Tuipulotu, who had struggled to understand how he failed a drugs test in November last year.
The big lock was provisionally suspended by World Rugby following the positive result after playing for the All Blacks against Ireland in Chicago. He was shocked and perplexed that he had failed. He was adamant he had not deliberately or knowingly taken a banned substance and nor was he aware of any product that he could have inadvertently consumed that would result in him testing positive.
Still, having failed a test, he was left in limbo until he either had a negative B-sample or completed a hearing where he would have the chance to plead his case and try to persuade the relevant agency that he was innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing.
He had been advised that a negative B-sample would be a rarity in the extreme and yet he returned one — heightening the possibility that a mistake was made by the WADAaccredited Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City, where his original sample was tested.
New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association boss Rob Nichol said inquiries will continue to determine why the A-sample failed.
“This is a matter that SMRTL is investigating and we look forward to their feedback,” said Nichol. “Working with Patrick through the process, we always felt confident that he would be cleared.
“To be honest, there is an element of frustration, given the initial result and publicity, but at least people now know Patrick did nothing wrong.
“This result also reinforces the importance of the regulations and strict confidentiality obligations regarding players and their rights.
“Patrick was unfairly labelled as a result of the premature publicity of this matter. We trust that everyone now has a greater level of under- standing in this regard,” said Nichol. All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said Tuipulotu being cleared was wonderful news. Speaking before last night’s Halberg Awards, where he was a coach of the year finalist, Hansen said the outcome would be a relief to Tuipulotu after a tumultuous period. “In this case, you’ve got an innocent man, and the effect that can have on him, his family and his reputation is massive,” Hansen said. “Patrick said he was really shocked about the whole thing right from the beginning, so he’s now been vindicated.” Hansen said he was not alone in initially being perplexed about how Tuipulotu came to test positive, with the All Blacks careful to monitor everything that goes in the players’ bodies. “Guys are very aware of what they’re taking and they’re asking questions of all the staff,” Hansen said. “That’s why this one was a bit of a mystery to everybody. Patrick was 100 per cent sure he hadn’t taken anything wrong, yet we had an A-sample that said he had. Now the B-sample has come back and vindicated what he was saying.” But rather than taking aim at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Salt Lake City where testing took place, Hansen was more upset at “a few people who have had a shot” at the player in the past week. “It’s disappointing that it can happen but . . . anything when you’re involving humans, there will be mistakes made,” Hansen said. “The thing that disappoints me more is how people are so quick to make judgement that he must be guilty. “Sometimes people are a bit too quick to judge, and that’s why the process is so important.” Tuipulotu hasn’t been able to train with the Blues since his suspension but is understood to have trained on his own and is in good physical shape. He’ll work through with Blues and All Blacks conditioning staff when he should return to play but, despite the uncertainty over the summer, it’s probable he’ll be available from the start of March, if not sooner. And for the Blues, the relief will be considerable. They have a backline that has incredible potential but without Tuipulotu, they may have struggled to win the ball, or deliver the sort of grunt and graft required to compete with the best teams. His return to the boiler room will give the Blues presence in the collisions and also a dynamic ballcarrying force. Lisa Carrington (canoeing). Luuka Jones (canoeing), Lydia Ko (golf), Dame Valerie Adams (athletics).
Sportsman of the Year: Finalists:
Mahe Drysdale (rowing). Joseph Parker (boxing), Nick Willis (athletics) Tom Walsh (athletics).
Disabled Sportsperson of the Year: Finalists:
Liam Malone (para-athletics). Anna Grimaldi (para-athletics), Mary Fisher (paraswimming), Sophie Pascoe (para-swimming).
Team of the Year: Finalists:
Men’s 49er — Peter Burling and Blair Tuke (yachting). Men’s pair — Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (rowing), Team Sprint — Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell and Sam Webster (cycling), Women’s 470 — Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (yachting).
Coach of the Year: Finalists:
Gordon Walker (canoeing). Hamish Willcox (yachting), Jeremy McColl (athletics), Steve Hansen (rugby).
Emerging Talent: Finalists:
Campbell Stewart (cycling). Dylan Schmidt (trampoline), Finn Bilous (snow sports), Maynard Peel (cycling BMX).
Leadership Award:
Sophie Pascoe (para-swimming).
Lifetime Achievement Award: Hall of Fame inductees:
Myra Larcombe (swimming). Ruben Wiki (league), Don Jowett (athletics). Lisa Carrington is — officially — the new queen of New Zealand sport.
The canoeist was last night acclaimed as the 2016 sportswoman of the year, before also claiming the supreme Halberg Award.
At the Rio Olympics, Carrington took gold in the K1 200m and bronze in the K1 500m, becoming the first New Zealand female to claim multiple medals at a single Olympics.
Just as she did at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Carrington trumped an extremely strong field at the 54th Halberg Awards, after a remarkable year of Kiwi achievement, highlighted by a record 18 Olympic medals in Brazil.
The 27-year-old Carrington becomes the third woman to win the top award in the past decade, after Lydia Ko (2013) and Dame Valerie Adams (2007-09).
Mahe Drysdale won the sportsman of the year award after his thrilling triumph in Rio, while sailors Peter Burling and Blair Tuke pipped the superstar rowing pair of Eric Murray and Hamish Bond.
Gordon Walker, who masterminded the rise of Carrington, was judged coach of the year, ahead of Steve Hansen, Hamish Willcox and Jeremy McColl.
Liam Malone was named the disabled sportsperson of the year and delivered a typically candid acceptance speech. Malone won two golds and a silver medal at the Rio Paralympics and claimed the hotly contested category ahead of Sophie Pascoe, Anna Grimaldi and Mary Fisher.
Carrington was a deserved winner. Last August, she joined a select bunch of New Zealanders to reach the podium more than once at a single Olympics, including Danyon Loader, Ian Ferguson and Peter Snell.
“It’s amazing,” said Carrington. “Looking at the trophy and the names on the trophy, it’s great to be part of that history. And also to see my coach get an award . . . it’s great that he gets recognised. He works incredibly hard to allow me to get where I want to go.”