|
1 4 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 5
Stormers' drug secret is out
Dale Granger
February 14 2005
Cape Argus, blz. 18
www.capeargus.co.za
The Stormers have blamed the International Rugby Board for the secrecy
over David Britz's drug bust.
The team's hooker has tested positive for steroids, but there was silence
from the Stormers when they secretly replaced him with Hanyani Shimange
for a trip to London.
Shimange, the Springbok No 2 hooker last year, had been controversially
left out of the Stormers team before Britz's drug revelation.
The team was told about Britz's positive test shortly before its departure
on Thursday. The news was kept secret from the public and only leaked out
on Sunday.
The chief executive of Western Province Rugby, Rob Wagner, said the
Stormers had been prevented from telling because of IRB regulations.
He said that until a second test had been made, the team was not allowed
to comment on the case.
Britz, who turned 23 last Tuesday, played six games for the Stormers after
his Super 12 debut last season.
He now faces a two-year ban from rugby if his B sample is also positive.
The secrecy is at odds with a sport which says it prides itself on
openness with the media.
The excuse of contravening IRB regulations appears to be a fig-leaf and an
attempt to save South African rugby any embarrassment.
Britz is suspected to have tested positive for a new type of steroid
designed to avoid detection.
He is the first South African rugby player to test positive in two years.
[Link]
1 1 - 0 3 - 2 0 0 5
Britz's B sample confirms positive dope test
Stephen Nell
March 11 2005
Independent Online
www.iol.co.za
Embattled Western Province and Stormers hooker David Britz received a
further setback on Thursday when his B-sample confirmed the positive test
for an anabolic steroid.
Britz was last month informed of a positive dope test and exercised his
right to have his B-sample tested.
"It also showed up positive," SA Rugby's legal manager, Christo Ferreira,
said on Thursday.
"We have served them with notice and they have 14 days in which to inform
us whether they would like to have a hearing or not."
The steroid for which Britz tested positive is believed to be boldenone.
It is a veterinary steroid that is not manufactured or sold in South
Africa, though it can purchased over the Internet.
Boldenone can be used to lose or gain weight depending on the substance
with which it is used. It has to be injected into the body.
Should Britz be found guilty of using the steroid, he faces a two-year
spell on the sidelines according to International Rugby Board regulations.
[Link]
|
[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
