Union chief Christian Day warns players over drug abuse

Christian Day, chairman of the Rugby Players’ Association, believes Rugby Union must remain vigilant following a surge in cases of sportsmen and women becoming hooked oN powerful painkillers and sleeping pills.
In September, South Sydney Rugby League players Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray were rushed to hospital in a life-threatening state after mixing painkillers with alcohol, while prescription drug abuse in both Australian and American sport is said to be rife.
In the latest edition of The Players Room, the official publication of the RPA, independent medical advisor Dr Tim Anstiss described warning signs, risks and actions players should take to prevent addiction.
Many prescribed drugs are not banned by WADA, the world’s doping agency, and Day told The Rugby Paper: “You read horror stories from Rugby League and American sports where players get hooked on all sorts of things and it is an issue that needs to be looked at and kept in check.
“Do players rely on painkillers some weeks? I’ve no doubt they do because we’re playing a very brutal game.
“It’s tough and physical and some weeks you may need pain relief. You have to put faith in the club medics and doctors and rely on the information being sensible.
“As long as you follow those instructions I don’t think you’ll come to any harm. It’s when you get uninformed people telling people to keep taking stuff that people start relying on them, but certainly at Saints our medics aren’t encouraging us to take vast amounts of pills.”
Day, meanwhile, has called on the game’s authorities to ensure players are consulted over changes to the international season structure from 2019.
Premiership Rugby are understood to be lobbying hard for an October start and later finish to the Northern Hemisphere season, while the Test match calendar could be rewritten with Six Nations, summer and autumn dates potentially affected.
Day said: “You have people pulling in all sorts of directions over season structure. In the Northern Hemisphere people want as man high profile games as they can get, but that isn’t necessarily the right way to go for players.
“You just hope the right people are asked and the players should definitely be involved.”
NEALE HARVEY