A FEW MONTHS ago Paul Kimmage wrote a few pieces about a former French rugby international that caused quite a bit of debate regarding the use of supplements and performance enhancing drugs in the sport.
Laurent Benezech wrote a book about that issue regarding French rugby and Kimmage asked the question of whether rugby has become overly reliant on painkillers and supplements. Last night, Kimmage appeared on RTE’s The Saturday Night show to address the topic and as usual, he didn’t hold back.
“I’m talking about the medicalisation of rugby and that includes doping,” Kimmage said.
“Of course it does. We had a famous swimmer and people were outraged by the suggestion that she cheated because Irish people don’t cheat. Now we know that is nonsense. To suggest there is a doping problem in rugby – which there is and it’s not just me, it’s the chief executive of the RFU has said that – and that it doesn’t apply in Ireland is naive.”
Earlier in the interview host Brendan O’Connor asked Kimmage what he was claiming with regards to Irish rugby.
“I’ve made no accusation at all,” Kimmage said.
“All I’ve done is bring the Irish public a view from inside the game.
“Anyone who is making a living from the game or is playing the game, they don’t want to know (regarding the issue of medicalisation),” he said later in the interview.
“But if you talk to parents or people outside the game, they aren’t blind. They know what is going on and they are thinking ‘do I want my son doing this?’.”
Kimmage was also asked whether he thought any current players were using performance enhancing drugs and the journalist said he intends to investigate the issue like he famously did with Lance Armstrong during the the last 15 years.
“I don’t know (whether current players are doping),” Kimmage said.
“I’ve started looking at it now and I am going to conduct more interviews and try to find out the answer to that question.”
Leinster and Ireland prop Cian Healy watched the interview and took to Twitter to voice his disagreement with the points Kimmage was making.
Healy should sit down for an interview with Kimmage so we can get both their opinions laid out. It would be a riveting read/watch.
Originally published at 10.07
