School teams face drug tests
Pressure on top school players ‘massive’
Former All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne is all for schoolboy rugby players being randomly drug tested.
Drugfree Sport NZ will test players at the top four first XV finals in Palmerston North in September, a decision prompted by mounting fears that secondary school players across the country were doping to meet growing pressure to perform.
But the move doesn’t worry Thorne, who is gunning to take Christ’s College to the finals in his second year in charge of the Christchurch school.
‘‘I’ve got no issue with it,’’ said Thorne, capped 50 times by the All Blacks. ‘‘I’m 100 per cent confident our boys are all good and clean.
‘‘It wouldn’t concern us but that’s only our region. I think the Crusaders region in general . . . I
‘‘We know that they’re taking large amounts of supplements and things like that which we know a young child doesn’t need to be taking.’’ Drugfree Sport NZ chief operating officer Scott Tibbutt on the pressure on first XV players
wouldn’t think there are any players that would be too concerned about it either.
‘‘I’m not sure what it’s like further north, if there is any more pressure on the boys in Auckland or Waikato. But down here I don’t think there is anyone dabbling in anything they shouldn’t be.’’
A 2013 survey, featuring almost 150 first XV players, resulted in 70 per cent of them admitting they took four or more supplements, with 90 per cent of them also concerned about the safety of the products they were consuming.
Two of the surveyed players admitted to taking a banned substance.
Drugfree Sport NZ chief operating officer Scott Tibbutt told TVNZ the pressure on first XV teams and players around the country was ‘‘massive’’.
‘‘We know that they’re taking large amounts of supplements and things like that which we know a young child doesn’t need to be taking,’’ he said.
Only five of the remaining 23 schools in contention for the finals tournament had Drugfree Sport NZ hold a ‘‘clean sport’’ seminar with their players this season.
Thorne said Christ’s College was one of the schools which hadn’t hosted one of the seminars, but the school had touched on the subject with their players inhouse.
That included making sure players knew which supplements they were taking and having help on hand if they had concerns.
‘‘We’ve got a nutritionist who works at the school . . . and our strength and conditioning trainer also monitors what the boys take in terms of supplements. So we’re pretty confident that we’ve got it covered there,’’ Thorne said.
‘‘We do cover it but not in too much depth because it hasn’t been an issue. But it’s something we’re aware of and keep an eye on.’’
Drugfree Sport NZ will conduct mandatory seminars ahead of the top four finals, which Thorne called a ‘‘good idea’’. ‘‘Drugs aren’t a big issue in NZ rugby at the moment, but it’s good to be educated about it to make sure the young guys are as educated about it as the top-level pros.’’