An official announcement from World Rugby has verified that six international Georgian rugby players, along with one support staff member, were discovered to have breached anti-doping regulations.
These infractions occurred before the 2023 Rugby World Cup and encompassed a meticulously planned operation featuring the use of recreational substances and the swapping of samples in preparation for the tournament.
Charges have been brought against six players, and five of them have already faced disciplinary actions. These players, who have been penalized, are currently pursuing appeals against the decisions.
The accusations primarily concern recreational narcotics, which carry severe punishments in Georgia. Furthermore, the breaches involved a coordinated effort to bypass drug testing procedures and to exchange players’ urine specimens.
Georgia was eliminated during the group stages of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but no evidence suggests that the integrity of the competition was affected.
The probe began after the World Rugby’s athlete passport management system detected “anomalies in urine samples.” RugbyPass has learned that DNA from previously stored player samples played a role in identifying the implicated individuals.
The official declaration states: “World Rugby verifies that a significant collaborative inquiry undertaken by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has led to the substantiation of anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) against six players and one support staff member of the senior men’s national fifteens team from Georgia. This corroboration aligns with a public disclosure made by WADA earlier today.”
“The inquiry was initiated when World Rugby’s athlete passport management system detected inconsistencies in urine specimens, spanning a considerable timeframe leading up to the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. World Rugby promptly notified WADA, and both organizations collaborated closely through intricate and thorough concurrent investigations, involving targeted player examinations and DNA scrutiny by World Rugby, including on archival samples maintained through World Rugby’s enduring storage initiative.”
“Six athletes and a member of the team’s support staff have faced accusations and penalties concerning a planned operation that included recreational substances and the swapping of samples (a procedure forbidden by the WADA Code and the World Rugby Anti-Doping Regulations).”
“Although acknowledging WADA’s public declaration, which incorporates its concurrent inquiry into the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency, the international governing body is presently restricted from providing additional remarks, in compliance with the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules, until the complete disciplinary (results management) procedure concludes and the final decisions and penalties are made public.”
“World Rugby approaches all anti-doping issues with utmost gravity and steadfastly advocates for fair competition.”
