Welsh Rugby Union player Thomas Davies receives three-year ban for Anti-Doping Rule Violations
Welsh Rugby Union player Thomas Davies has been banned from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport for three years following Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) collected a urine Sample from Mr Davies, Out-of-Competition, at a Merthyr RFC training session on 26 September 2024. Analysis of Mr Davies’ Sample returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for a long-term Metabolite of Dehydrochlormethyl-testosterone (DHCMT), an anabolic steroid that is a non-Specified Substance and prohibited at all times in sport.
UKAD notified Mr Davies that he may have committed ADRVs for the Presence and Use of a Prohibited Substance and imposed a Provisional Suspension on him.
In response, Mr Davies admitted the ADRVs and suggested that the AAF was a result of his use of supplements, specifically “muscle-building” capsules recommended to him by an individual he trusted, to gain weight and improve strength. Mr Davies said he was unaware that the capsules contained a Prohibited Substance and that he did not check their ingredients or consult medical advice, which he accepted was a serious oversight.
UKAD subsequently charged Mr Davies with both ADRVs. Mr Davies admitted the ADRVs and the asserted period of Ineligibility (of four years) within 20 days of receiving the Charge Letter. In accordance with Article 10.8.1 of the UK Anti-Doping Rules, Mr Davies was therefore able to reduce the asserted four-year period of Ineligibility to three years.
Mr Davies’ three-year period of Ineligibility from all World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport is deemed to have commenced on 11 November 2024 (affording him credit for the Provisional Suspension served) and will expire on 10 November 2027.
Technical terms and more information
Reduction in the period of Ineligibility after prompt admission and acceptance of the sanction length are detailed in the UK Anti-Doping Rules, Article 10.8.1.
Anabolic Androgenic Steroids are listed at Section S1.1 of the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List. Analysis of Mr Davies’ Sample returned an AAF for the following:
- Dehydrochlormethyl-testosterone (DHCMT) long term Metabolite, 4α-chloro-18-nor-17β-hydroxymethyl,17α-methyl-5α-androst-13-en-3α-οl.
Non-specified substances are those where there is no non-doping explanation for having these substances in an athlete’s system.
