Yorkshire Carnegie's Staples gets four-year doping ban

ByReuters

Published 18/04/2018 at 14:07 GMT

April 18 (Reuters) - Yorkshire Carnegie's South African flanker Brandon Staples has been banned from all sport for four years after testing positive for three steroids, England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Wednesday.

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The 20-year-old Staples was tested on Aug. 9 last year and provisionally suspended on Sept. 7 after his sample returned an adverse analytical finding.

He is the first player to test positive for a performance enhancing substance in English professional rugby since 2011, the RFU said.

Staples said the adverse finding was the result of him consuming a nutritional drink while on holiday. An independent national anti-doping panel has suspended him until Sept. 6, 2021.

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"Ultimately individuals are responsible for what they put into their bodies and this case highlights what can happen if a player is not vigilant," Stephen Watkins, RFU Anti-Doping and Illicit Drugs Programme Manager, said in a statement.

Yorkshire Carnegie are sixth in the 12-team RFU Championship, the second-tier of English rugby. (Reporting by Simon Jennings; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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