SCOTLAND internationalist Scott MacLeod has been cleared to return to the game after the Scottish Rugby Union accepted that a night out drinking with friends to celebrate being told he was to be a father had caused him to produce high testosterone levels.
The player had faced the possibility of a two-year ban had he been found guilty of any wrong-doing, which could have ended his professional rugby career. The 21-times capped lock forward, who currently plays for Welsh side Llanelli Scarlets, missed Scotland's autumn internationals because he was suspended while an investigation took place, but he is now free to return to club and international rugby.
MacLeod stated last night: "I am glad this is finally over and look forward to resuming my career with Scarlets and Scotland. I never thought that an impromptu night out to celebrate the news that I was going to become a dad for the first time would lead to all this."
The 29-year-old from Hawick had been randomly drug-tested at a weights training session at Murrayfield at 11am on 25 January, this year, and three weeks later the SRU were informed by UK Sport, who carry out the testing, that they had two issues with MacLeod's sample.
The first was a failure to provide a Therapeutic Exemption Certificate (TUE) for the drug in his asthma inhaler, Terbutaline. He had a TUE for a different inhaler drug, but had not changed it when his regular supply was out and he switched temporarily to Terbutaline. Ignorance was accepted and MacLeod escaped in February with a warning.
However, unbeknown to the player, the Union had also been told that his sample had shown a higher-than-permitted level of testosterone, a common indicator of drug-taking in sport for several decades. He agreed to the SRU's request to make public his inhaler error to raise awareness of the strict guidelines, unaware of the testosterone problem.
Testosterone is a complicated drug to test as it is produced naturally by the body. Artificial testosterone has been detected in famous athletes to have been banned from sport. This was not the case with MacLeod, but he was tested again in March and April to determine whether the January test was out of the ordinary.
This confirmed that MacLeod normally produces higher than average testosterone levels, but UK Sport proceeded to investigate and, in October, informed the SRU that MacLeod a case to answer. Rugby's governing body suspended the player indefinitely.
The Union explained yesterday that the case has been "discontinued" because of an acceptance of MacLeod's submission that alcohol had caused the high readings. This assertion is supported by scientific research by UK Sport, the presence of alcohol in his sample, and witness statements that he was drinking as little as eight hours before the test.
The SRU stated: "It was initially considered by UK Sport, and consequentially by an independent review panel, that MacLeod had, based on the 'A' sample, a 'case to answer' per the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) protocols.
"This was all prior to analysis of the 'B' sample by UK Sport's laboratory. It was analysis of the 'B' sample, which first confirmed the existence of alcohol in the player's system."
MacLeod added last night: "I feel very frustrated that my sample was not tested for alcohol at an earlier stage of these proceedings. Had that been the case, I would have been able to establish my innocence earlier, not have been suspended and the details of this case would not have become public."
The SRU protocols for dealing with drugs are along the strict lines of UK Sport, IRB and WADA, but Gregor Nicholson, the SRU's international administration manager, stated that there was "an urgent need for a review of (testosterone] protocols", questioning whether A samples should be routinely analysed for alcohol.
"(The SRU] is also making representations to the IRB in relation to how the IRB's anti-doping regulations (and therefore our own anti-doping regulations) deal with the complicated and uncertain nature of such cases.
"Until then, all players who are subject to doping control, including out-of-competition unannounced testing, should take heed of the very real danger of acute alcohol ingestion causing a temporary elevation of their (testosterone] level, to the extent that they could face having to formally explain, to a legal standard, the reason for the finding in order to avoid a doping charge. (The SRU] will be highlighting the importance of this case to all players and enhancing player education on the subject."
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Interview: Cleared MacLeod lashes out at doping authorities•
Relieved player may feel like an innocent victim of misfortune, but truth is he's a lucky man