The Wales Rugby Union has held talks with former head coach Warren Gatland after he said he suspected one of his players may have been doping.

The issue of doping in rugby has once again been spotlighted after pundits suggested that South Africa’s World Cup win comes with an asterisk, following Aphiwe Dyantyi’s positive test for banned substances.

Gatland added fuel to the fire when, in an interview with Off the Ball, he revealed he may have had suspicions about a Wales international during his 12-year reign as Wales coach, based mainly on jokes made about the player.

‘You know I haven’t come across, personally, any players that I’ve coached from a Wales perspective that I would … well, sorry, maybe one,’ Gatland said.

‘It’s probably unfair of me to say I had the suspicions [about one of them] because I’ve got no evidence or anything like that. It’s kind of like just saying, “Is there a possibility?”‘

When probed as to whether he confronted the player about his suspicions, he replied: ‘No, no. It was more like a couple of people making jokes, sort of thing.’

The WRU has since spoken to Gatland and said it is comfortable with the exchange that took place. The governing body is happy that Gatland’s suspicions were not serious and therefore there was no need for a follow-up.

‘We’ve spoken to Warren to understand his comments in their entirety and we are satisfied with the clarity he provided,’ a spokesperson said.

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