Introduction
More than 700,000 rugby union players registered with the British rugby unions (IRB, a). A positive drugs test by an international rugby player highlights the importance of the provision of appropriate advice to sportsmen and sportswomen by pharmacists. The player in question tested positive for the banned substance ephedrine following a domestic game. He escaped punishment because it was claimed that the tablet taken to counter the effects of the 'flu and he was not aware that it contained a banned substance (BBCSport, 2002). There is a list of drugs banned by the International Rugby Board (IRB), which is based on the substances and methods prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IRB, b). The aim of the study was to ascertain if the use of ephedrine (and some other substances) was more widespread.

Methods
Following five semi-structured interviews with players and others actively involved in rugby union, a structured self-complete questionnaire was produced and following piloting was distributed to a total of 238 male players from thirteen rugby union teams, purposively selected so that amateur, professional and semi-professional players were included. These were distributed in Spring, 2003. The questionnaire responses were anonymous preventing identification of the club and players.

Results
A response rate of 95% was achieved using the purposive sampling strategy (225/238). Fifty-one players reported using a cold remedy containing pseudoephedrine on the day of a rugby match, 62 had reported taking ephedrine during the off-season, 192 had taken ibuprofen, 47 had a corticosteroid injection before a cup game to enable them to play, 142 stated using creatine to increase muscle strength and 58 players reported that although they did not have asthma, they had used 'an asthma inhaler containing salbutamol' immediately before a game. There were some statistically significant differences in responses between professional, semi-professional and amateur players; these will be discussed.
In response to the question, 'who would you consult for more information on banned substances?' 44 stated a rugby coach, 39 said another player, 100 said physiotherapist, 105 stated a doctor and 110 said a pharmacist. [Players could tick more than one box.] However, only 23% of players had been to a pharmacy to ask advice on health or medicines in the previous six months and a further 33% stated that they had never visited a pharmacy for such advice. Further, 23% of players had asked a pharmacist for advice on what he could take as a sportsman, for a cold.

Discussion
The findings indicate that further research is required to establish whether the use of certain medicines is undertaken knowingly that they are banned, if it is due to ignorance or a combination of factors and the extent of peer pressure in terms of the use of substances, whether they are banned or permitted. It appears that community pharmacy may be able to further assist in the provision of advice and recommendation of appropriate products for rugby union players, for example, in recommending OTC products permitted by the IRB.

IRB, a. International Rugby Board [WWW] <http://www.irb.com/intouch/member_unions/unions_wales.cfm [Accessed December 2003]
IRB, b. Regulation 21: Anti-doping. [WWW] <http://www.irb.com/laws_regs/regs/regs_regs21.cfm [Accessed March 2003]
BBCSport. (2002). Drug scare prompts Neath to act. [WWW] http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/celtic/2240745.stm [Accessed December 2002]