Players from all 12 participating nations supported the IRB's Keep Rugby Clean campaign at the Junior World Championship in Argentina by warming up for their crucial final Pool fixtures in branded t-shirts carrying the Keep Rugby Clean message.
The concerted show of support by all officials, administrators and tournament staff across the three venues highlights the Game's pledge to keep doping out of Rugby by raising awareness of drugs and their impact.
"Keep Rugby Clean is a far reaching campaign which is supported by every player and team, and operates at all IRB Age Grade tournaments. The awareness and education programme coupled with a familiarity of testing procedures ensure that players have no doubts when it comes to anti-doping," said IRB Anti-Doping Manager Tim Ricketts.
Players from the participating teams all received educational material in their own language prior to leaving for Argentina and once in South America each squad took part in a specialist session with the IRB Anti-Doping team.
Among the topics covered in these sessions were the use of social drugs, the sample collection procedure, the dangers of nutritional supplements and information on therapeutic use exemptions.
Players were then required to complete the Real Winner programme, which can be found on the IRB's Keep Rugby Clean website, and then the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) quiz with a minimum of eight out of 10 correct answers needed to get the Keep Rugby Clean t-shirt.
The Keep Rugby Clean campaign has the support of a number of key international players, including IRB Anti-Doping Ambassadors Felipe Contepomi of Argentina, France's Vincent Clerc, Uale Mai of Samoa, Wales' James Hook, George Smith of Australia and South Africa's former IRB Player of the Year Bryan Habana.
The players at the IRB Junior World Championship are joining fellow Age Grade players who made the same commitment at the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy in Moscow last month.
The IRB's Anti-Doping Programme started in 2002 and since then approximately 7,003 players have received anti-doping education at IRB Age Grade tournaments.
The IRB has conducted a total of 1,861 tests in relation to its Age Grade Championships since 2002, including both In and Out of Competition, which to date has resulted in a total of six anti-doping rule violations.
For more information contact: Andrea Wiggins at andrea.wiggins@irb.com
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