Australia captain Ed Jenkins and Team GB captain Emily Scarratt have been announced as World Rugby’s Keep Rugby Clean ambassadors in Rio de Janeiro and with just one day to go until rugby sevens makes its debut at the Olympic Games, the pair joined together with the sport’s governing body to pledge their support to the campaign.
World Rugby has given anti-doping education to more than 15,000 players in recent years and continues to be committed to protecting clean athletes through intelligent testing and values-based education.
Visit the Keep Rugby Clean site here.
Speaking as Team GB get set to take on hosts Brazil at the Deodoro Stadium on Saturday, Scarratt, a Women’s Rugby World Cup winner with England in 2014, said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to support the Keep Rugby Clean campaign ahead of the Olympic Games.
“As a player, it’s incredibly important to know that World Rugby is maintaining a level playing field in our sport. We need to keep our sport free from cheats and players have to play their part.”
Jenkins added: “Education is key to the success of a campaign like Keep Rugby Clean. It’s important that players can highlight the negative effects of doping and encourage others to educate themselves about the negative consequences.
“Rugby is set to grow massively as a result of Olympic Games inclusion and I think it’s vital that players continue to fully support the campaign to Keep Rugby Clean.”
Find more information about Rio 2016 here.
Last week World Rugby announced details of its targeted pre-Olympic Games rugby sevens anti-doping testing and education programme.
The most scientific and comprehensive pre-event programme ever operated in the sport, the programme captured all Olympic players from qualified nations as well as players from teams still in the qualification hunt during that period.
It comprised a total of 1,289 samples across the period with 83 per cent of tests conducted out of competition. On average, each player who has made it to Rio was tested 2.3 times. All samples have been stored to enable future analysis and to date there have been two recorded adverse analytical findings. Both players were Russian and both tested positive for meldonium but were subsequently cleared to play following their respective hearings in line with WADA’s notice regarding that substance. All tests on Russian players were collected and analysed outside of Russia.
You c an watch the Keep Rugby Clean educational video here.
World Rugby Anti-Doping General Manager Mike Earl said: “The Keep Rugby Clean campaign is continuing to educate players of all ages about the dangers associated with taking banned substances.
“It’s great to have such high profile players like Ed and Emily supporting the campaign and highlighting the importance of anti-doping. The opportunity to promote our message with such world-class athletes is fantastic for us and is key to the success of the Keep Rugby Clean campaign.”
Report courtesy of World Rugby
