According to the WAD Code Players have the following rights and responsibilities in relation to anti-doping.
So, you must:
- Know and abide by the Anti-Doping Rules, policies and practices
- Be available for testing at all times
- Take responsibility for what you ingest or use
- Tell medical professionals that they should not use prohibited substances or methods, as per the WADA Prohibited List, and that any advice or treatment given to an athlete should not violate the Anti-Doping Rules
- Tell UKAD and your World Rugby if you have committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation within the last 10 years
- Co-operate in any doping investigations when asked to do so
- Disclose the identity of your support personnel upon request from an Anti-Doping Organisation.
These are set out in the Athletes Anti-Doping Rights Act.
Strict Liability
Players need to take anti-doping very seriously and understand the principle of Strict Liability.
Strict liability means that a player is solely responsible for any banned substance they use, attempt to use, or is found in their system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was any intention to cheat. Not knowing about anti-doping is not an excuse.