Former Munster and Ireland outhalf Ronan O’Gara has said rugby needs to “sit up and take notice” of concerns about use of performance-enhancing drugs within the sport.
The issue of doping within rugby has come to the fore in recent weeks, and was the subject of a column by Sunday Independent journalist Paul Kimmage.
O’Gara tweeted that he could not sleep following Kimmage’s article, in which the former professional cyclist, who has covered doping in that sport extensively, wrote about a reluctance within rugby to deal with the possibility of significant levels of use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Asked about the issue on RTÉ Sport’s Game On programme, O’Gara said: “There has always been whispers, throughout the 15 or 16 years I played the game, of so-and-so may be on this, or so-and-so may be on that.
“But I think when someone like Paul Kimmage gets involved, and I suppose if the evidence is credible, then you have to sit up and take notice. Because a respectable journalist like him can use him time far better than creating rumours.”
“There has always been whispers, throughout the 15 or 16 years I played the game, of so-and-so may be on this, or so-and-so may be on that" - Ronan O'Gara
O’Gara mentioned the case of Sam Chalmers, the son of former Scottish international Craig Chalmers, who was banned from the game for two years in 2013, then aged just 19, for doping offences. He spoke about the pressure young players are under, and the need to educate them about the risk.
“You look at someone like Craig Chalmers’ son,” he said.
“Probably well educated, he knew everything about it. But he fell into the trap of taking a banned substance. So it’s ... talking about it is one thing; if young teenagers are under pressure, and they do fall into the trap, then it’s a massive problem for our game.”
O’Gara insisted that the vast majority of players within the sport in Ireland would not succumb to these pressures, but called for life-time bans for those who were caught.
“You can be sure in Ireland 99% of people wouldn’t touch the stuff. But there’ll always be a small percentage that may be tempted ... there are fellas breaking their arse, naturally, day in day out, and if there are some cheats in there, then they just need to be given life-time bans.”
Can't sleep after reading @PaulKimmage article ... V interesting .. Maybe there's another reason why RWC2007 went the way it did...
— Ronan O Gara (@RonanOGara10) November 30, 2014
O’Gara’s former international team-mate, Bernard Jackman, speaking on the same programme, said there was testing in the game, but warned that drug cheats would try to stay a step ahead.
“Cycling has shown that – and other sports; you know, there’s a big controversy about the Russians [in athletics] – that the dopers always seem to be one step ahead. So I don’t know if the testing is proof that the sport is clean,” Jackman said.
“It’s good that this being spoken about now. It’s in the public, and let’s see if we can find people who are guilty of it, and educate people if it’s particularly young people who are doing it.”
Jackman, too, called for more information to be given to young players about the risks involved.
“The pressure must be massive on youngsters to get and, I suppose, gain an edge to get into a professional environment,” he said. “The game has exploded. The funnel is very narrow; there’s very little difference [from] one 18-year-old to another, and it’s hard to imagine the pressure guys are under to try to make it.
“I honestly didn’t think it was a big issue. You would hear small things here and there. But I think that the fact that it’s in the public now; let’s get evidence, and if anyone who’s caught ... should be banned for life, because it’s a phenomenal sport. We want it to be clean, we want it to be safe.”
