News Round-Up: The France prop Pieter de Villiers last night pleaded his innocence after being dropped from the squad to face England at Twickenham next week for testing positive for cocaine and ecstasy.
He is allowed to play until the results of a second sample come through in two weeks, but French coach Bernard Laporte said he would not field De Villiers against England to protect the spirit of rugby.
"I have always been honest with my sport and I do not take drugs," said De Villiers, the first French international to fail a drug test. "I live for my passion for rugby and I do not have a clue how these traces got into my body. I have not eaten or slept in the past 24 hours and I keep asking myself thousands of questions.
"After the (Stade Francais) match against Harlequins on December 14th some of the team went into Paris for a night out. We drank a lot and at some point I didn't feel well at all. I took a taxi home and was violently sick and suffered from an awful headache. The symptoms were particularly bad and I had never had that before despite going to several after-match parties with my team-mates."
The South Africa-born De Villiers, the mainstay of the French pack, was one of 13 players tested randomly by the French sports ministry in the week after the Parker Pen Challenge Cup match last December.
Laporte coached De Villiers at Stade Francais before taking charge of France and he said he was sad and angry at the revelation that one of his senior players had tested positive for recreational drugs.
"I am sad because I know Pieter very well," he said. "I am angry because high-profile sportsmen have to set an example to the young. The mentality and the spirit of rugby dictate that he does not play against England.
"I do not know what will happen to him if the second sample is positive but I certainly hope he does not get suspended for the rest of his career."
Meanwhile, Brendan Venter is stepping down as player-coach of London Irish at the end of the season to resume his medical career in South Africa.
His contract runs out in June and the 33-year-old former Springbok centre said: "I've had a great innings and a fantastic career and there comes a time to move on. My time has come and when I return to South Africa I will return to my medical practice."
Venter has ruled out any full-time rugby involvement though may help out on a part-time basis if his medical commitments allow. "I would enjoy helping out in the afternoons somewhere, but there is no question of me coaching full-time," he said.
Venter inspired the Exiles to win the Powergen Cup last season.
- Guardian Service
