Chalmers believes education is the key for athletes after losing two years of his career

The most high-profile doping case in Scottish rugby is that of former Melrose and Scotland Under-20 player Sam Chalmers, the son of Grand Slam hero Craig, who was banned for two years in 2013, for steroid use.

Chalmers, pictured, has since returned to the game with Edinburgh Accies and takes a proactive role in campaigning for clean sport, giving educational talks on the subject. He tested positive at the age of 19 for two anabolic steroids at a Scotland under-20 training session in May 2013 as the squad warmed up for the Junior World Championships.

“Life’s been pretty tough,” said Chalmers in an interview at the end of his ban in 2015.

“It was my own stupid mistake but to put that in my body was the worst mistake of my life. I was in the gym with a few of my friends and they were taking a supplement.

“I didn’t know much about it as there’s so many things on the market. I took this supplement without looking into it. You need to know everything you put in your body. Education will be the key for young athletes.

“I didn’t take an illegal substance, but it’s illegal in rugby. That was the problem. Striving to get into the professional game and having that taken away from you. It’s a nightmare.

“The drug had an adverse effect. It made me feel ill because I’m a typeone diabetic. I didn’t receive any gains from it at all. Two years of playing the game I love has been taken away from me.

“When I was tested, they started asking me about what supplements I was taking and I thought maybe it was illegal. I didn’t know. I hadn’t even thought about what I put in my body. I broke down when I found out. “From the start, I came out and held my hands up. I didn’t shift the blame to my friends. I’ve now educated others not to make the same mistake as me. It was the right way to go about it. Hopefully what I’ve done with my educational videos and talks is to not let other people make the same mistake.”

Since 2010, when the SRU synched its anti-doping programme with UKAD, there have been three other positive tests. An unnamed lower league player was banned after testing for diuretics, which he said he took to “look good on holiday”.

In 2015, Darren Eales of Preston Lodge was given a two-year ban for anabolic steroid use and in February this year South African prop andrew act on was banned for four years for the same offence after testing positive while at Marr.

In 2008, former Scotland lock Scott Macleod failed two doping tests, while playing in Wales for Scarlets, first for banned substance terbutaline, only to be retrospectively cleared after it was revealed to be nothing more than an administrative error regarding asthma medication. He then failed a test due to unusually high testosterone levels but was cleared when it was accepted the rise was due to a large amount of alcohol being consumed the night before the test.

Scotland and Edinburgh flanker John Hardie served a three-month ban this season after an internal investigation into “gross misconduct” which was widely reported to be cocaine use. It is understood that the New Zealandborn player did not fail a test.