The Keep Rugby Clean message will be driven home on Sunday at the IRB Junior World Championship 2010 in Argentina when players, officials, tournament staff and administrators wear branded t-shirts to show their support for the IRB campaign.
The third round of pool matches doubles as "Keep Rugby Clean Day" at the Junior World Championship, an initiative that was implemented at International Rugby Board Age Grade tournaments to raise awareness of drugs and their impact.
Players from the 12 teams participating all received educational
material in their own language prior to leaving for Argentina and
once in South America each squad took part in a session with IRB
Anti-Doping Co-ordinator Ilaria Baudo.
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.
"This year the players have been much more involved in
the sessions and seemed to respond well to the more interactive
format, asking plenty of questions and they seemed to get a lot out
of the programme," revealed Baudo.
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 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.
