World Rugby can confirm that a major joint-investigation conducted by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has resulted in anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) being confirmed against six players and one member of the support personnel from the Georgia men’s senior national fifteens team. This confirmation follows a public update by WADA today.
The investigation was triggered when irregularities in urine samples were identified by World Rugby’s athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time prior to Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. World Rugby alerted WADA immediately and the two bodies worked closely together throughout complex and extensive parallel investigations which featured targeted player testing and DNA analysis by World Rugby, including on historical samples held via World Rugby’s long-term storage programme.
Six players and a member of team support personnel have been charged and sanctioned in relation to an orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution (a practice prohibited by the WADA Code and the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules).
While noting WADA’s public update, including its parallel investigation relating to the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency, in accordance with the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules, the international federation is currently unable to make any further comment until the full disciplinary (results management) process has been completed and the outcomes and sanctions are published.
World Rugby takes all anti-doping matters extremely seriously and is an unwavering champion of clean sport.
