Four-year doping ban stalls Wellman’s career
Rugby
Although expressing remorse and seeking a second chance, the player has failed in his application for reduction of the four-year period of ineligibility.
The excitement and recognition of breaking through in his debut as a senior international player rather quickly dissolved for Darryl Wellman when he was informed by World Rugby one month later that he had tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid.
Wellman, now 25, has only recently passed the halfway mark of serving a four-year ban – which ruined his eligibility to challenge for a place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad to France, and which also diminishes his chances for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The centre/wing represented Walvis Bay Private School and made selection for the Namibia U18 schools team in 2017.
Wellman was again picked by Namibia during both of his under-20 qualifying years. In 2018 under coach Henry Kemp, a very potent national junior team won the Rugby Africa title and qualified for the World Rugby Junior Trophy tournament in Bucharest, where they beat Romania and Hong Kong, but lost to Samoa and Portugal to finish fourth (effectively 16th in the world).
In 2019, Namibia’s U20s lost to Kenya in Nairobi and has since then not qualified for another World Rugby U20 Trophy participation.
Wellman proceeded to play senior club rugby and was in good form towards the end of 2022 – scoring a try in each half as outside centre for his club FNB Unam in a losing NRU premier league final (31-51) against FNB Wanderers.
European tour 2022
Allister Coetzee, the national coach at the time, called up Wellman for the November 2022 tour to Europe. Namibia lost to Spain in Madrid (15-34) before earning a dramatic late 43-37 win against Canada in Amsterdam.
Divan Rossouw suffered a head injury against Spain and was replaced by debutant Wellman at left wing for the Canada test, in which he played the full 80 minutes.
On 11 November 2022, the day before the Spain test, Wellman provided a urine sample as part of World Rugby’s out-of-competition anti-doping testing.
The player was notified on 21 December 2022 of the Adverse Analytical Finding for the metabolite indicative of use of one or both of the prohibited substances methasterone and/or oxymetholone. and that he may have committed an anti-doping rule violation.
World Rugby states in its final report: “In both cases, the regulations provide that it is each player’s personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance (such as methasterone or oxymetholone) is used. Players are strictly liable for any prohibited substance found in their body, and it is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the player’s part must be demonstrated by World Rugby to establish the commission of the rule violation by the player.”
Wellman provided his initial written response to the Notification Letter on 20 January 2023 in which he stated that he “never took any prohibited substance that will put [his] rugby career in jeopardy”. He also stated that “If any prohibited substance was found in [his] sample, [he] was not aware of it”.
Relevant facts
The player, during or about July 2022, ingested the supplement Superdrol on the recommendation of a personal trainer who is a former rugby player, Uazikamisa (Kami) Mieze at Virgin Active Gym in Windhoek, Namibia.
In an affidavit sworn by the player and dated 26 April 2023, entitled ‘Founding Affidavit’, he materially stated:
(a) When recommending Superdrol to him, Mieze told him that Superdrol was “widely used by Namibian rugby players” and it would “give me strength in the gym”, but yet it would “not give me an advantage over opponents”;
(b) He ingested Superdrol for approximately one month and had ceased taking Superdrol “on or before 8 August 2022”;
(c) He “innocently believed” that Superdrol was not performance enhancing and was not a prohibited substance, which is also why he did not include it in the doping control form he completed on 11 November 2022, at the time his urine sample was collected; and
(d) despite being informed of an anti-doping video being shown to the team before its departure for Europe in November 2022, attendance was not compulsory, so he did not attend – thus, he had “no prior awareness of doping”, (except for an anti-doping video and a one-hour course he attended when he was playing in an U18 school rugby tournament); and
(e) he is genuinely remorseful for committing the rule violations.
The Hearing
A judicial committee was convened by World Rugby to hear the player’s application for reduction of the four-year period of ineligibility.
The judicial committee comprised of Paul Hayes KC (Chair), Mr Gregor Nicholson and Dr Stephen Targett, was confirmed by World Rugby on 19 June 2023 (the Judicial Committee).
The hearing took place on Friday 15 September 2023 before the Judicial Committee via an online/remote hearing platform (Zoom) provided by World Rugby.
Two solicitors appeared on behalf of World Rugby, while three World Rugby representatives were present during the hearing.
Mr Garoy September, Legal Practitioner of Windhoek, Namibia, appeared on behalf of the player. Wellman was also present during the hearing.
During cross-examination, the player gave the evidence that he met Mieze at the Virgin Active Gym (the Gym) in Windhoek, where Mieze was a manager. He paid Mieze approximately N$400 in cash per month (in addition to the standard gym fee) for Mieze to provide him with meal plans and to help him with his training.
Mieze suggested that he take supplements such as protein and creatine and introduced him to a supplement branded ‘Superdrol’, which would “better my gym or give me more strength in the gym” and that rugby was one of the reasons he consumed Superdrol;
Wellman didn’t know Superdrol was a steroid. He made no inquiries to Mieze as to what Superdrol was or what was its ingredients, nor did he ever consider whether Superdrol might have contained a prohibited substance. He never checked the other supplements he was taking and thought Superdrol was “like any creatine or testo booster”.
He did though “check[ed] the labels” of supplements he consumed, including the Superdrol label.
In addition to the monthly N$400 he paid Mieze for training and meal plans, he paid Mieze N$500 per month for the Superdrol and further N$1,250 per month for other supplements (creatine, N$450 and protein N$800 per month).
He took the Superdrol in the mornings, one pill every second day in the first week and one pill per day in the second week, at which point he ceased taking the Superdrol pills because they made him feel “really bad”.
No research
In response to queries from the Judicial Committee, he confirmed he was a student between 2018 and 2022, studying to be a Safety Officer, Occupational Health and Safety, he completed his studies in July 2023 and holds a diploma.
He could have easily googled “methandrostanalone” which appeared on the Superdrol label, but never did before consuming Superdrol, nor did he undertake any other research about Superdrol.
In response to questions from the committee, Wellman said he last consumed Superdrol on 4 August 2022. He didn’t speak to or seek advice concerning Superdrol from any other person, other than Mieze. He denied taking risks with his career.
Mr September commendably made the concession that the player admits with hindsight that he was negligent when he ingested Superdrol, but that it fell short of recklessness. He stated that the player “admits he did not take due care and should have done more to establish what exactly Superdrol was before the substance got into his body”.
Found to be intentional
The judiciary committee found: “When all of the evidence is considered, it is clear that the player’s conduct was in fact intentional, because he actually knew that Superdrol contained a prohibited substance before consuming it.
The judicial committee wholly rejected the explanations offered by the plaintiff as being lacking in credibility.
“Second, the player was reckless in that at the very least he knew that his consumption of Superdrol might have resulted in a rule violation and manifestly disregarded that risk and was therefore intentional.
“Although the player is remorseful and seeks a second chance, the regulations do not permit consideration of such evidence in mitigation of the sanction to be imposed for the rule violations admitted by the player. The player has failed in his application for reduction of the four-year period of ineligibility imposed upon him by World Rugby.”
Conclusion
“For the foregoing reasons, we ORDER AND DIRECT that: (a) the player’s application for a reduction in sanction is dismissed; and (b) the player be subject to a period of ineligibility for a period of four years, commencing on 21 December 2022 and expiring at midnight on 20 December 2026.”
Wellman, now 25, has only recently passed the halfway mark of serving a four-year ban – which ruined his eligibility to challenge for a place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad to France, and which also diminishes his chances for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The centre/wing represented Walvis Bay Private School and made selection for the Namibia U18 schools team in 2017.
Wellman was again picked by Namibia during both of his under-20 qualifying years. In 2018 under coach Henry Kemp, a very potent national junior team won the Rugby Africa title and qualified for the World Rugby Junior Trophy tournament in Bucharest, where they beat Romania and Hong Kong, but lost to Samoa and Portugal to finish fourth (effectively 16th in the world).
In 2019, Namibia’s U20s lost to Kenya in Nairobi and has since then not qualified for another World Rugby U20 Trophy participation.
Wellman proceeded to play senior club rugby and was in good form towards the end of 2022 – scoring a try in each half as outside centre for his club FNB Unam in a losing NRU premier league final (31-51) against FNB Wanderers.
European tour 2022
Allister Coetzee, the national coach at the time, called up Wellman for the November 2022 tour to Europe. Namibia lost to Spain in Madrid (15-34) before earning a dramatic late 43-37 win against Canada in Amsterdam.
Divan Rossouw suffered a head injury against Spain and was replaced by debutant Wellman at left wing for the Canada test, in which he played the full 80 minutes.
On 11 November 2022, the day before the Spain test, Wellman provided a urine sample as part of World Rugby’s out-of-competition anti-doping testing.
The player was notified on 21 December 2022 of the Adverse Analytical Finding for the metabolite indicative of use of one or both of the prohibited substances methasterone and/or oxymetholone. and that he may have committed an anti-doping rule violation.
World Rugby states in its final report: “In both cases, the regulations provide that it is each player’s personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substance (such as methasterone or oxymetholone) is used. Players are strictly liable for any prohibited substance found in their body, and it is not necessary that intent, fault, negligence or knowing use on the player’s part must be demonstrated by World Rugby to establish the commission of the rule violation by the player.”
Wellman provided his initial written response to the Notification Letter on 20 January 2023 in which he stated that he “never took any prohibited substance that will put [his] rugby career in jeopardy”. He also stated that “If any prohibited substance was found in [his] sample, [he] was not aware of it”.
Relevant facts
The player, during or about July 2022, ingested the supplement Superdrol on the recommendation of a personal trainer who is a former rugby player, Uazikamisa (Kami) Mieze at Virgin Active Gym in Windhoek, Namibia.
In an affidavit sworn by the player and dated 26 April 2023, entitled ‘Founding Affidavit’, he materially stated:
(a) When recommending Superdrol to him, Mieze told him that Superdrol was “widely used by Namibian rugby players” and it would “give me strength in the gym”, but yet it would “not give me an advantage over opponents”;
(b) He ingested Superdrol for approximately one month and had ceased taking Superdrol “on or before 8 August 2022”;
(c) He “innocently believed” that Superdrol was not performance enhancing and was not a prohibited substance, which is also why he did not include it in the doping control form he completed on 11 November 2022, at the time his urine sample was collected; and
(d) despite being informed of an anti-doping video being shown to the team before its departure for Europe in November 2022, attendance was not compulsory, so he did not attend – thus, he had “no prior awareness of doping”, (except for an anti-doping video and a one-hour course he attended when he was playing in an U18 school rugby tournament); and
(e) he is genuinely remorseful for committing the rule violations.
The Hearing
A judicial committee was convened by World Rugby to hear the player’s application for reduction of the four-year period of ineligibility.
The judicial committee comprised of Paul Hayes KC (Chair), Mr Gregor Nicholson and Dr Stephen Targett, was confirmed by World Rugby on 19 June 2023 (the Judicial Committee).
The hearing took place on Friday 15 September 2023 before the Judicial Committee via an online/remote hearing platform (Zoom) provided by World Rugby.
Two solicitors appeared on behalf of World Rugby, while three World Rugby representatives were present during the hearing.
Mr Garoy September, Legal Practitioner of Windhoek, Namibia, appeared on behalf of the player. Wellman was also present during the hearing.
During cross-examination, the player gave the evidence that he met Mieze at the Virgin Active Gym (the Gym) in Windhoek, where Mieze was a manager. He paid Mieze approximately N$400 in cash per month (in addition to the standard gym fee) for Mieze to provide him with meal plans and to help him with his training.
Mieze suggested that he take supplements such as protein and creatine and introduced him to a supplement branded ‘Superdrol’, which would “better my gym or give me more strength in the gym” and that rugby was one of the reasons he consumed Superdrol;
Wellman didn’t know Superdrol was a steroid. He made no inquiries to Mieze as to what Superdrol was or what was its ingredients, nor did he ever consider whether Superdrol might have contained a prohibited substance. He never checked the other supplements he was taking and thought Superdrol was “like any creatine or testo booster”.
He did though “check[ed] the labels” of supplements he consumed, including the Superdrol label.
In addition to the monthly N$400 he paid Mieze for training and meal plans, he paid Mieze N$500 per month for the Superdrol and further N$1,250 per month for other supplements (creatine, N$450 and protein N$800 per month).
He took the Superdrol in the mornings, one pill every second day in the first week and one pill per day in the second week, at which point he ceased taking the Superdrol pills because they made him feel “really bad”.
No research
In response to queries from the Judicial Committee, he confirmed he was a student between 2018 and 2022, studying to be a Safety Officer, Occupational Health and Safety, he completed his studies in July 2023 and holds a diploma.
He could have easily googled “methandrostanalone” which appeared on the Superdrol label, but never did before consuming Superdrol, nor did he undertake any other research about Superdrol.
In response to questions from the committee, Wellman said he last consumed Superdrol on 4 August 2022. He didn’t speak to or seek advice concerning Superdrol from any other person, other than Mieze. He denied taking risks with his career.
Mr September commendably made the concession that the player admits with hindsight that he was negligent when he ingested Superdrol, but that it fell short of recklessness. He stated that the player “admits he did not take due care and should have done more to establish what exactly Superdrol was before the substance got into his body”.
Found to be intentional
The judiciary committee found: “When all of the evidence is considered, it is clear that the player’s conduct was in fact intentional, because he actually knew that Superdrol contained a prohibited substance before consuming it.
The judicial committee wholly rejected the explanations offered by the plaintiff as being lacking in credibility.
“Second, the player was reckless in that at the very least he knew that his consumption of Superdrol might have resulted in a rule violation and manifestly disregarded that risk and was therefore intentional.
“Although the player is remorseful and seeks a second chance, the regulations do not permit consideration of such evidence in mitigation of the sanction to be imposed for the rule violations admitted by the player. The player has failed in his application for reduction of the four-year period of ineligibility imposed upon him by World Rugby.”
Conclusion
“For the foregoing reasons, we ORDER AND DIRECT that: (a) the player’s application for a reduction in sanction is dismissed; and (b) the player be subject to a period of ineligibility for a period of four years, commencing on 21 December 2022 and expiring at midnight on 20 December 2026.”
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