Welsh rugby player banned for years after failing drugs test

He was part of a Cup-winning side at the Principality Stadium in April

A Welsh rugby player has been banned for three years after the presence of a prohibited substance was found in his system.

Caine Rees-Jones, of Llanelli Wanderers RFC, was found to have a high level of testosterone in his system after he gave a urine sample at a Llanelli Wanderers training session on March 26, 2024. Following further investigation, the results were consistent with an "exogenous origin of testosterone" inserted into the body as an anabolic androgenic steroid.

Rees-Jones, who represented the Scarlets at age grade level but was not part of the academy, did not have a therapeutic use exemption and admitted that he had used testosterone, but claimed he had taken it for "aesthetic purposes unrelated to sports performance" when he was notified by the UK Anti-Doping Agency.

The player was part of the Llanelli Wanderers side that won the Division One Cup final at the Principality stadium in April this year - less than two weeks after taking the drugs test, but before the failed results had been confirmed.

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He was initially sentenced to a four-year ban but this had been reduced by a year based on early admission and acceptance of sanction.

His period of ineligibility commenced on June 18, 2024 and will end on June 17, 2027. During his ban Rees-Jones cannot participate in any capacity in a competition, event or activity organised by the Welsh Rugby Union.