Ulster 2022-2023

[ronk]

McFarland signs a contract extension until 2025.

https://ulster.rugby/content/dan-mcfarl ... until-2025

So we've about 6 months before it's announced that he's joining Bath.

[the spoofer]

Looks like they are getting Kitshoff.

[sunshiner1]

by the spoofer

Looks like they are getting Kitshoff.

Hell of a signing if they could get him.

[FLIP]

Looks like they are getting Kitshoff.

With the Irish LH stocks in as poor a condition as they are? In this economy?

[wixfjord]

That's a seriously good signing for Ulster.

How the feck have they been allowed to sign BOTH a NIQ TH AND LH in one go though?

Seems strange.

[sunshiner1]

by wixfjord

That's a seriously good signing for Ulster.

How the feck have they been allowed to sign BOTH a NIQ TH AND LH in one go though?

Seems strange

They've been after Kitshoff for a few years and with Warwick and O'Sullivan he not blocking any up and comers. As for the TH I can imagine that Moore's injury is more serious than been let on. The TH in question will do a year to let Moore recover and then after the RWC decisions will be made.

[neill_m]

That's a seriously good signing for Ulster.

How the feck have they been allowed to sign BOTH a NIQ TH AND LH in one go though?

Seems strange.

If Ulster do get the Kitshoff signing over the line, it is for the 2023/24 season post RWC not season 2022/23.

[wixfjord]

That's a seriously good signing for Ulster.

How the feck have they been allowed to sign BOTH a NIQ TH AND LH in one go though?

Seems strange.

If Ulster do get the Kitshoff signing over the line, it is for the 2023/24 season post RWC not season 2022/23.

Ah I see, so Toomaga Allen would be gone at that stage then. Makes sense.

[munster#1]

Very interesting to see that it has come out that Dan Touhy was given a 2 year ban for using steroids.

After all, he is a person who stated that rugby was rotten to the core when announcing his retirement.

[paddyor]

Kimmage had this in his pocket and was waiting for the right time to strike. What a sad sack

[wixfjord]

Anyone give the full text or even the jist of it?

[paddyor]

Former Ireland international Dan Tuohy is back in the game as boss of the newly formed academy at Malone, the Belfast-based All-Ireland League club, after having his playing career cut short last year through serious injury. The 35-year-old earned 11 Test caps between 2010 and 2015, featuring twice in the title-winning 2014 Six Nations, but time was called on his playing days in February 2020 following the horror arm fracture sustained five months earlier while lining put for Vannes in the Pro D2 in France.
Rugbypass,

May 22, 2021



Let’s start with the call. It’s 2.38 on Friday afternoon and he’s in Belfast, working as a trainee project manager, when his mobile starts buzzing. Twenty seconds. Odd number. He doesn’t pick up. Two minutes later, there’s a text message — a journalist in Dublin:

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‘Dan, can you spare five minutes please?’

‘Yeah, I can do around five after work. What’s it concerning?’

‘Thanks Dan. Call you at five.’

‘What is the topic of discussion?’

‘I’ve a document here from the AFLD that says you tested positive for steroids at Vannes.’


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Subscribe to 'The Collision' for a weekly update from Rugby Correspondent Ruaidhri O'Connor and the best writing from our expert team Issued every Friday morning

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Let’s go to the document. It arrives via email from an anonymous source:

Commission des sanctions de l’Agence Francaise de Lutte contre le Dopage Séance du 1er Fevrier 2021 — Decision No 3

Resume de la decision relative a M. Daniel TUOHY

Sport: rugby

Date of breach of anti-doping rules: 27 February 2020

Circumstances of the breach: training at Racing club de Vannes

Breach of the antidoping rules: the presence of one or more substances or prohibited methods

Prohibited substances detected: LGD-4033 (ligandrol) and its metabolite dihydroxy-LGD-2033 (Anabolic agents)

The source has also written a cover note: “Dan Tuohy — ex-Irish international 11 caps. This is a report from France that he tested positive for two anabolic steroids ... He was banned for two years from all rugby worldwide ... During his ban he was coaching a club and commentating for the BBC, all of which is banned according to the judgment passed ... You are right in your concerns about steroids in rugby.”

I call the source.

I call the AFLD.

I call Tuohy.

He calls back.

“I’ve been fully transparent about the issue both privately, and publicly, since it arose,” he says. “So I’ve nothing to hide. Unlike a lot of sportspeople that have been caught in the past and tried to wriggle their way out of it, I’m more than happy to give you a full breakdown. And that story will be exactly the same story I’ve told everybody else.”

But who exactly did he tell?

Tuohy was born in Bristol and raised in Weston-super-Mare. He went to Hartpury University on a rugby scholarship, signed for Gloucester in 2008 and spent a year at Exeter before joining Ulster. It was through a Tipperary-born grandfather that he qualified for Ireland. He made his Test debut against New Zealand in 2010, spent six seasons at Ulster and moved to Stade Francais in 2018, and then to Vannes.

Let’s return to what he says.

The month is September 2019. He’s captain. Playing well. It’s Tuohy’s second season in Brittany and Vannes are at home to Oyonnax. The visitors kick off. He tracks back to the 22 but falls awkwardly after he jumps and wins the ball. He says his left arm was shattered and required surgery. The radial nerve was damaged and the surgeon couldn’t tell when or if it would improve.



Two months passed. They removed the cast and his arm came out of the sling but there was nerve damage to his hand. He says he couldn’t hold a drink or brush his teeth or cut his food. He did more tests. His hand began to improve. The surgeons and specialists and the level of care was good.

Then he went to the internet.

He says his arm had withered and that he felt vulnerable as a person. He found a supplement — a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) — that would help build muscle mass. He knew it was banned but wasn’t top shelf in terms of what was ‘dirty’. He ordered it online and took the tablets for four months until February 1, 2020.

He’s sure about the date because he had just returned with his wife from a short break in Amsterdam and knows it was 26 days later when the testers arrived. He had announced his retirement a week earlier but was lifting weights at the Stade Jo Courtel. He says some other players were tested. He informed the officers of some protein supplements he was using, but not about the SARM.

Five months later, on June 12, he was informed by the AFLD that he had breached the anti-doping regulations and was being provisionally suspended. He says his wife didn’t know he had been using the drug but was very supportive. He told the three coaches at Vannes and they were supportive too.

Two weeks later, his contract expired and his rugby career was officially over.

He was offered a lawyer by Provale, the French players’ union, and the case dragged on for months. The initial verdict was to impose a four-year ban that was subsequently reduced to two on appeal because of his transparency. He says it was a difficult period. He was a little embarrassed. He says that’s really kind of it and that there’s nothing more to say.

Let’s go to my question. His transparency. How had he kept it so quiet? Why didn’t anyone know about this?

“Well, it’s interesting really because ... there’s part of me that thought, ‘Eventually it will get out. Maybe I should use this story as an educational thing?’ But I think I was a bit embarrassed about being so vulnerable, and because I never did it whilst playing, and never intended to play again ...

“I mean, sometimes you get rewarded with transparency but sometimes [you don’t]. I thought it might affect my employment. I’ve started a job in the last couple of months and when you messaged that was my main concern — that people would just label you. They would not care about the reason: my injury, my surgery, my nerve damage. They just want the juicy bits, but there are no juicy bits. That’s the truth of it.”

“Did you tell anyone at the IRFU?” I ask.

“No,” he says. “Mainly because I left the IRFU in 2016, and this was 2020. So there was no need for me to tell the IRFU when I’d had no dealings with them since, so it was not something I felt I needed to do.”

“But you were given a two-year ban and were coaching over here?”

“The ban was exclusive to France.”

“Exclusive to France?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t see that in the document I have here.”

Let’s go to the IRFU.

Their spokesman is busy. I send a message. “What would happen if an Irish player at a French club tested positive for anabolic steroids and was banned for two years? Would the IRFU be informed?”

“No,” he replies.



“It says on your website that you implement an anti-doping policy in line with World Rugby and WADA?”

“We do, yes. Sorry for the brief answer, just out of a meeting. The scenario is a player playing in France? So no connection to us contractually?”

“Yes,” I reply.

He says he’ll make some calls.

I send him the AFLD report on Tuohy’s positive test. He sends me a statement: “The IRFU had not been made aware that former player Dan Tuohy had tested positive for banned substances in France. The IRFU, through Ulster Rugby, will examine the circumstances surrounding Dan Touhy’s subsequent appointment to a coaching position by a domestic club in Ulster.”

A suivre, as they say in France.

[/quote]

[dropkick]

Should keep off the ball going for a few days.

[wixfjord]

Fair play to Kimmage for uncovering this. Really good journalism. It's a big story that shouldn't be brushed under the rug.

As usual though with Kimmage, he's trying to make it into a much bigger 'conspiracy' on that reading.

As for Tuohy, no sympathy for him at all. He has come across as a pr!*k on a few occasions.

No way should he be involved at an academy level with Malone either.

[munster#1]

It is strange that a club with such proud traditions would hire someone who received a 2 year ban for drug use to run their academy.

I know nothing about the man, but his comments about rugby just after being banned says enough for me.
I suspect he really hoped that his suspension would be swept under the rug if he announced his retirement.

[Oldschoolsocks]

Former Ireland international Dan Tuohy is back in the game as boss of the newly formed academy at Malone, the Belfast-based All-Ireland League club, after having his playing career cut short last year through serious injury. The 35-year-old earned 11 Test caps between 2010 and 2015, featuring twice in the title-winning 2014 Six Nations, but time was called on his playing days in February 2020 following the horror arm fracture sustained five months earlier while lining put for Vannes in the Pro D2 in France.
Rugbypass,

May 22, 2021



Let’s start with the call. It’s 2.38 on Friday afternoon and he’s in Belfast, working as a trainee project manager, when his mobile starts buzzing. Twenty seconds. Odd number. He doesn’t pick up. Two minutes later, there’s a text message — a journalist in Dublin:

ADVERTISEMENT

‘Dan, can you spare five minutes please?’

‘Yeah, I can do around five after work. What’s it concerning?’

‘Thanks Dan. Call you at five.’

‘What is the topic of discussion?’

‘I’ve a document here from the AFLD that says you tested positive for steroids at Vannes.’


Rugby Newsletter
Subscribe to 'The Collision' for a weekly update from Rugby Correspondent Ruaidhri O'Connor and the best writing from our expert team Issued every Friday morning

Enter your Email Address

Sign Up
Let’s go to the document. It arrives via email from an anonymous source:

Commission des sanctions de l’Agence Francaise de Lutte contre le Dopage Séance du 1er Fevrier 2021 — Decision No 3

Resume de la decision relative a M. Daniel TUOHY

Sport: rugby

Date of breach of anti-doping rules: 27 February 2020

Circumstances of the breach: training at Racing club de Vannes

Breach of the antidoping rules: the presence of one or more substances or prohibited methods

Prohibited substances detected: LGD-4033 (ligandrol) and its metabolite dihydroxy-LGD-2033 (Anabolic agents)

The source has also written a cover note: “Dan Tuohy — ex-Irish international 11 caps. This is a report from France that he tested positive for two anabolic steroids ... He was banned for two years from all rugby worldwide ... During his ban he was coaching a club and commentating for the BBC, all of which is banned according to the judgment passed ... You are right in your concerns about steroids in rugby.”

I call the source.

I call the AFLD.

I call Tuohy.

He calls back.

“I’ve been fully transparent about the issue both privately, and publicly, since it arose,” he says. “So I’ve nothing to hide. Unlike a lot of sportspeople that have been caught in the past and tried to wriggle their way out of it, I’m more than happy to give you a full breakdown. And that story will be exactly the same story I’ve told everybody else.”

But who exactly did he tell?

Tuohy was born in Bristol and raised in Weston-super-Mare. He went to Hartpury University on a rugby scholarship, signed for Gloucester in 2008 and spent a year at Exeter before joining Ulster. It was through a Tipperary-born grandfather that he qualified for Ireland. He made his Test debut against New Zealand in 2010, spent six seasons at Ulster and moved to Stade Francais in 2018, and then to Vannes.

Let’s return to what he says.

The month is September 2019. He’s captain. Playing well. It’s Tuohy’s second season in Brittany and Vannes are at home to Oyonnax. The visitors kick off. He tracks back to the 22 but falls awkwardly after he jumps and wins the ball. He says his left arm was shattered and required surgery. The radial nerve was damaged and the surgeon couldn’t tell when or if it would improve.



Two months passed. They removed the cast and his arm came out of the sling but there was nerve damage to his hand. He says he couldn’t hold a drink or brush his teeth or cut his food. He did more tests. His hand began to improve. The surgeons and specialists and the level of care was good.

Then he went to the internet.

He says his arm had withered and that he felt vulnerable as a person. He found a supplement — a SARM (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) — that would help build muscle mass. He knew it was banned but wasn’t top shelf in terms of what was ‘dirty’. He ordered it online and took the tablets for four months until February 1, 2020.

He’s sure about the date because he had just returned with his wife from a short break in Amsterdam and knows it was 26 days later when the testers arrived. He had announced his retirement a week earlier but was lifting weights at the Stade Jo Courtel. He says some other players were tested. He informed the officers of some protein supplements he was using, but not about the SARM.

Five months later, on June 12, he was informed by the AFLD that he had breached the anti-doping regulations and was being provisionally suspended. He says his wife didn’t know he had been using the drug but was very supportive. He told the three coaches at Vannes and they were supportive too.

Two weeks later, his contract expired and his rugby career was officially over.

He was offered a lawyer by Provale, the French players’ union, and the case dragged on for months. The initial verdict was to impose a four-year ban that was subsequently reduced to two on appeal because of his transparency. He says it was a difficult period. He was a little embarrassed. He says that’s really kind of it and that there’s nothing more to say.

Let’s go to my question. His transparency. How had he kept it so quiet? Why didn’t anyone know about this?

“Well, it’s interesting really because ... there’s part of me that thought, ‘Eventually it will get out. Maybe I should use this story as an educational thing?’ But I think I was a bit embarrassed about being so vulnerable, and because I never did it whilst playing, and never intended to play again ...

“I mean, sometimes you get rewarded with transparency but sometimes [you don’t]. I thought it might affect my employment. I’ve started a job in the last couple of months and when you messaged that was my main concern — that people would just label you. They would not care about the reason: my injury, my surgery, my nerve damage. They just want the juicy bits, but there are no juicy bits. That’s the truth of it.”

“Did you tell anyone at the IRFU?” I ask.

“No,” he says. “Mainly because I left the IRFU in 2016, and this was 2020. So there was no need for me to tell the IRFU when I’d had no dealings with them since, so it was not something I felt I needed to do.”

“But you were given a two-year ban and were coaching over here?”

“The ban was exclusive to France.”

“Exclusive to France?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t see that in the document I have here.”

Let’s go to the IRFU.

Their spokesman is busy. I send a message. “What would happen if an Irish player at a French club tested positive for anabolic steroids and was banned for two years? Would the IRFU be informed?”

“No,” he replies.



“It says on your website that you implement an anti-doping policy in line with World Rugby and WADA?”

“We do, yes. Sorry for the brief answer, just out of a meeting. The scenario is a player playing in France? So no connection to us contractually?”

“Yes,” I reply.

He says he’ll make some calls.

I send him the AFLD report on Tuohy’s positive test. He sends me a statement: “The IRFU had not been made aware that former player Dan Tuohy had tested positive for banned substances in France. The IRFU, through Ulster Rugby, will examine the circumstances surrounding Dan Touhy’s subsequent appointment to a coaching position by a domestic club in Ulster.”

A suivre, as they say in France.

[/quote]

so Touhy doped and got caught and suspended. Thats an open and shut case, he's served his ban and moved onto a life after rugby. Whether he should be involved in coaching at academy level, I don't know but it does leave a bit of a sour taste for me anyway.

there's an issue with he reporting though Kimmage keeps referring to anabolic steroids, neither banned substance Touhy tested positive for are anabolice steroids, its a SARM and a metabolite. For somebody who reports on doping he really should be getting the detail correct.

maybe I'm splitting hairs, but Kimmage himself is a prickly customer so the least he should do is report the facts of the case accurately.

[riocard911]

He never enhanced his onfield performance by means of steroids (or got caught doing same), so it's strikes me as a bit of a nothing-burger. Plus if the guy is retired/contracted in France, why does the IRFU need to know? Big deal in Dodge....

[paddyor]

It is strange that a club with such proud traditions would hire someone who received a 2 year ban for drug use to run their academy.

I know nothing about the man, but his comments about rugby just after being banned says enough for me.
I suspect he really hoped that his suspension would be swept under the rug if he announced his retirement.

Is it worse than hiring a cheat to play though and then trying to sneak it past the media?

[munster#1]

It is strange that a club with such proud traditions would hire someone who received a 2 year ban for drug use to run their academy.

I know nothing about the man, but his comments about rugby just after being banned says enough for me.
I suspect he really hoped that his suspension would be swept under the rug if he announced his retirement.

Is it worse than hiring a cheat to play though and then trying to sneak it past the media?

I personally think it is, but I can understand if you think it’s not.
As a father and a committee member of a rugby club, I wouldn’t want someone like this holding a position of developing youth.

[RoboProp]

Fair play to Kimmage for uncovering this. Really good journalism. It's a big story that shouldn't be brushed under the rug.

As usual though with Kimmage, he's trying to make it into a much bigger 'conspiracy' on that reading.

As for Tuohy, no sympathy for him at all. He has come across as a pr!*k on a few occasions.

No way should he be involved at an academy level with Malone either.

Tuohy has been rather vocal (attention seeky if you ask me) off the pitch his whole career, so I'm not too surprised that at the end of his his career in the PD2 he takes some mail order roids to prolong his career.

Kimmage has been trying to get the hot scoop on PEDs in Irish rugby for sometime, I have always suspected it's why himself and Drico parted ways on Drico's autobiography. Kimmage wanted warts and all, Drico wanted to sell books and continue to do his media stuff.

If Kimmage thinks Tuohy is his smoking gun he needs to dust off his mac again, as the Tuohy story all seems rather rinky dink than systemic. He ordered the pills online which in of itself is beyond idiotic, he's a father of 2 he could have been putting any auld rubbish (more toxic that roids) into himself. I would think the people in rugby in Ireland who do take PEDs are not very high up the food chain, and that PEDs usage is by individuals choice rather than a club telling them this is what they need do to hit the next level.

Agree 100% absolutely no way he should be involved in coaching.