RUGBY NEWS:ENGLAND PROP Matt Stevens has been provisionally suspended from all competition after testing positive for a recreational drug, the English RFU said yesterday.
The Bath player had been due to fly to Portugal with the England team on Sunday as they prepare for the Six Nations Championship.
“The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has been made aware by European Rugby Cup (Ltd) of the positive doping test given by Matt Stevens following the Heineken Cup match against Glasgow Warriors in December 2008,” the statement said.
The 26-year-old Stevens, who has been removed from England’s elite player squad, said he was attending counselling sessions.
“I was tested for a prohibited substance, but it’s not performance enhancing, so you can take what you want from that,” he told Sky Sports News.
“When you think about how much time people have put into my career and I have thrown it away. Like any drug problem you don’t know it’s happening, and then it mounts up and before you know it you have a problem and an illness.”
The RFU said a decision on a replacement for Stevens in the squad is being considered.
Stevens, who was born in South Africa, made his England debut in 2004 and has earned 32 caps. He appeared in every one of England’s seven matches at the 2007 World Cup when they reached the final.
