Johnson drug ban

[Yorkshire man]

I read in the press that the Wasps forward Johnson has had his six month drugs ban for taking an illegal diet supplement back dated to the date of his test in February. He played for Wasps four times following the test that resulted in the ban, and then normally would have served the remainder of his ban in the new season, not becoming available for his club till October time. This decision effectively means that he has spent his ban sitting on his backside on the beach, rather than missing matches for his club. Realistically this six month ban has now caused him to miss four, perhaps five games. How ridiculous can it get

[sam16111986]

Why are you surprised? Clark was allowed to serve his ban on holiday and missing pre season games and that was an act of violent thuggery that would have seen him arrested under any other circumstance.

Rugby authorities have a tendency to bottle big bans. I also doubt very much that the drugs testing regime is anywhere near the level we wish it is. We should look to set an example both in testing and in punishment but the RFU lack the spine.

[JP14]

Why are you surprised? Clark was allowed to serve his ban on holiday and missing pre season games and that was an act of violent thuggery that would have seen him arrested under any other circumstance.

Rugby authorities have a tendency to bottle big bans. I also doubt very much that the drugs testing regime is anywhere near the level we wish it is. We should look to set an example both in testing and in punishment but the RFU lack the spine.

They didn't with Back as far I'm aware .

[GETHIN EXILE]

What really annoys me is that it says he is "banned from all sport" but he says he is "working hard in pre season" he should not be allowed to do any pre season until the ban ends. Banned from all sport should mean just that - no training - no playing - banned from training ground till after the ban ends.

[sam16111986]

Why are you surprised? Clark was allowed to serve his ban on holiday and missing pre season games and that was an act of violent thuggery that would have seen him arrested under any other circumstance.

Rugby authorities have a tendency to bottle big bans. I also doubt very much that the drugs testing regime is anywhere near the level we wish it is. We should look to set an example both in testing and in punishment but the RFU lack the spine.

They didn't with Back as far I'm aware .

How many years ago was that?

To be fair to them they did come down hard on Matt Stevens and dish out the two year ban he deserved.

I'd still like to see a lot more seen to be done to tackle doping in rugby.

[Rugbyflanker]

To be controversial the bans are back to front to me! Someone has a recreational drug what probably makes them drink more beer and depressed when they are coming down and gets two years while another one possibly takes one in a contact sport to make them stronger,bigger and faster in the risk that they could hurt their opponent and gets less! I'm not condoning any drugs but I've seen the same happen in boxing and MMA and it makes me sick!

[cape]

How many of you have actually read the minutes from the hearing and read the justification as opposed to an article?

Firstly it isn't the RFU who hand down the suspension it is the National Anti-Doping Panel.
He has not been in training since the suspension and has had to stay away from the club, he has been doing his pre-season on his own
Thirdly the substance was not performance enhancing nor was it taken deliberatively, as the Dr stated in the hearing it probably had the opposite effect as caused him to p*** more and lose weight in a bad way. The reason that particular pill is banned is because as it has diuretic properties it can be used to mask other substance abuse, but further tests found no other traces of any substance in his system

On the other hand I don't agree with how they backdated it - I believe it should only begin on the day that he was first suspended and not when the sample was taken. He was a very silly man, and if you read the minutes you will probably find yourself feeling a little bit sorry for him but then also thinking incredibly silly to think a mix up wouldn't take place

Comparing this to Matt Stevens is completely different

[Rugbyflanker]

Let's not be naive here! It wasn't taken deliberately because he said so?! And it's a masking agent which could easily be concealing a ped. I've been around it plenty of times following MMA and boxing and heard every excuse in the book

[cape]

So have the qualified Judges, Doctors and QC involved in the hearing. But sure, your assumptions and thoughts are far more precise. Read the hearing

[mol2]

Wonder what supplement it came from bearing in mind it is a prescription only medicine in the UK?

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Not the first sportsman to get caught out on this, the other cases I remember were Shane Warne & Kolo Toure who were treated far harsher. It probably was a genuine error but the way the ban was calculated is shocking, not the players fault but it really doesn't look good, effectively Wasps played a banned player.
Its not the same as Matt Stevens but his positive test was for something unlikely to improve your on pitch performance.

[loretta]

I was just going to post a reply about Johnson, fat-burner tables that apparently don't work and his disappointed wife. But, I don't think the mods would wear it.....

[wormus]

How many of you have actually read the minutes from the hearing and read the justification as opposed to an article?

Well judging by the comments above and particularly those below it is obvious that none have read the RFU 18 page report - ideal instead of tomorrows Sunday Telegraph!!
So here is that report and you can all decide if the judgement is correct or otherwise, given this mistake I doubt if Ashley Johnson is pregnant but not sure about his wife!!
I feel that he is very lucky to be starting the season, and not to get the prosecution costs either.
https://www.englandrugby.com/mm/Documen ... nglish.PDF

[Rugbyflanker]

Very,very lucky! What's that noise? It's the sound of a can of worms being opened!

[TomWeston]

How many of you have actually read the minutes from the hearing and read the justification as opposed to an article?

Well judging by the comments above and particularly those below it is obvious that none have read the RFU 18 page report - ideal instead of tomorrows Sunday Telegraph!!
So here is that report and you can all decide if the judgement is correct or otherwise, given this mistake I doubt if Ashley Johnson is pregnant but not sure about his wife!!
I feel that he is very lucky to be starting the season, and not to get the prosecution costs either.
https://www.englandrugby.com/mm/Documen ... nglish.PDF

AJ seems to be even thicker than the average hooker. Well-coached, and not just by the Insects either!