Kenya Sevens coach Paul Treu has slammed a government task force report that claims banned substances were found in supplements given to his players.

Treu said the supplement in question, Evox, was brought in by the Kenyan Rugby Union a year ago, before he started as coach.

'When I arrived, players were taking typical off-the-shelf supplements. We decided – as we’d done in South Africa – to not endorse or advocate taking supplements of any kind, preferring to focus on proper nutrition.'

The Kenyan government's task force, led by Professor Moni Wekesa, completed its initial report in April this year. It was only recently handed over to the secretary of sports, arts and culture, Dr Hassan Wario.

In a statement on Tuesday, head of the Kenyan Rugby Union, Mwangi Muthee, accused the task force of 'shoddy and misinformed work' saying its findings were 'absolute rubbish'.

Treu said there had been a lack of transparency around the report, which he had not seen, and he questioned the credentials of the task force investigators.

He added that he and his coaching staff were not interviewed nor requested to provide answers to queries and would welcome an independent investigation.

“I believe in transparency so I urge the task team to release the full report and the laboratory tests done on the supplement,' said Treu.

'It is incumbent on them to make public the names of the drugs, the amounts they found in the product, their benefits, if any, and their side effects so the sports industry is made fully aware of all the issues involved.

'The comments by Professor Wekesa were highly defamatory and we, as the Kenya Sevens management, reserve all our rights.'

Photo: Tony Karumba/AFP Photo