I'm afraid that I do have sympathy for Zak and am surprised at the lack of it on here. The punishment for taking what is a non performance enhancing drug, is draconian.

He is a young man who has been caught out doing what many people in society do. I'm not condoning it, but the only victim here is himself. I don't buy into the 'role model' theory in this case any more than I did when he was banned for homophobic comments.

The only way these things are related is in people's response, in that homophobia was treated on these boards with sympathy overall (maybe not by you) and that people are completely unsympathetic to drug taking (or at least getting caught).

Because the length of the ban was too harsh. Justice is the key not consistency. Ben Barba got twelve games. I think that seems more reasonable.

FWIW Tomkins is likely to be back in the halves where he started out, so maybe Zak will be welcome. I'll have no problem with that.

It might too harsh and there's an argument that it could be shorter. But 2 years is the standard punishment it seems by UKAD so at least they're consistent. Chase now has the same. Drug testers aren't exactly going to have the view of let's be lenient in their job are they just because fans don't want to see someone banned for too long.

People bringing up Barba are completely missing the fact he was tested by a different drug testing organisation in a different country out of competition. SL doesn't decide the length of the ban they just follow them, with Barba they could only either really make him miss 12 games or none at all and it'd open up a lot of messier repercussions if they did the former.

As mentioned before one was a heat of the moment thing that can happen on the pitch (also maintain that I don't think it was aimed at the referee)

The other is a conscious decision that he had time to think about doing or not doing and had time to weigh up the potential damage and he still did it. Which is made worst considering his chequered past and the closeness of the playoffs for his team who were having a dream season.

The point about Barba is the lack of consistency - the rules need to provide an even playing field.

It doesn't matter where or when you are tested the governing bodies should agree an appropriate punishment that applies to everyone

how is there a lack of consistency? have other athletes failing out of competition tests received other bans from WADA?
failing in and out of competition tests are different offences, hence different punishments.

Shawn Barber Canadian pole vaulter - no ban despite testing positive in competition
Dan Evans - tennis player - one year despite testing positive during competition

BARBER - 'World pole vault champion Shawn Barber avoided a two-year suspension for an anti-doping violation after inadvertently ingesting cocaine when kissing a woman he met on the internet.

Barber was spared a ban after successfully arguing that the drug had been passed on through “kissing”.

EVANS - 'Dan Evans has been banned from tennis for one year after claiming leftover cocaine in a washbag or the pocket of his trousers contaminated legitimate medicine.

The 27-year-old tested positive for cocaine during the Barcelona Open in April this year but the ITF said in a statement it accepted “inadvertent contamination” was to blame for the positive test and that Evans bore “no significant fault or negligence”.

Quote: Sal Paradise "Shawn Barber Canadian pole vaulter - no ban despite testing positive in competition Dan Evans - tennis player - one year despite testing positive during competition'" Dan Evans failed an out of competition test according to this article and looks like it was the tennis association that decided the ban - just like the NRL decided Barba's. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... st-cocaine See Printer's post for Shawn Barber's ban. Ben Barba was banned before he came here and the RFL respected the ban imposed by NRL - dont they normally carry the bans over? Out of competion tests are for the governing bodies to deal with as far as i can tell theyve been pretty consistent.

Quote: Sal Paradise "Shawn Barber Canadian pole vaulter - no ban despite testing positive in competition Dan Evans - tennis player - one year despite testing positive during competition'" Dan Evans failed an out of competition test according to this article and looks like it was the tennis association that decided the ban - just like the NRL decided Barba's. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... st-cocaine See Printer's post for Shawn Barber's ban. Ben Barba was banned before he came here and the RFL respected the ban imposed by NRL - dont they normally carry the bans over? Out of competion tests are for the governing bodies to deal with as far as i can tell theyve been pretty consistent.

Your point is what exactly?

both of these athletes tested positive in competition for cocaine and got either a reduced sentence or no ban. Perhaps it is the quality of your lawyer that determines the length of your ban?

Why did Evans have "left over cocaine" if he wasn't a user? or was it OK to use outside of competition which in his case was most of the time as he seldom made it past the first round.

It illustrates the inconsistencies in the treatment of the same offence i.e. testing positive for cocaine in competition.

It illustrates every case is judged individually despite you claiming inconsistencies. It's like saying every high tackle or crusher tackle or contact with the ref should have the exact same ban when really they're differences in each case which often means different lengths of bans.

Having said that, a blanket two-year ban, whether tested in competition or not, would simplify things for everyone. Given how dumb some players are, the idea that if they're caught at ANY time they'll be out for two years might make them think twice.

Quote: Neruda "Dan Evans failed an out of competition test according to this article and looks like it was the tennis association that decided the ban - just like the NRL decided Barba's. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... st-cocaine See Printer's post for Shawn Barber's ban. Ben Barba was banned before he came here and the RFL respected the ban imposed by NRL - dont they normally carry the bans over? Out of competion tests are for the governing bodies to deal with as far as i can tell theyve been pretty consistent.'" Evans was tested at the Barcelona open - so in competition. It seems if you can come up with a good excuse you get a reduced ban - hardly consistent. as for Barber that really is stretching the imagination. As Brisbane says if you get caught the punishment needs to be the same regardless of the excuse you come up with.

Quote: Neruda "Dan Evans failed an out of competition test according to this article and looks like it was the tennis association that decided the ban - just like the NRL decided Barba's. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... st-cocaine See Printer's post for Shawn Barber's ban. Ben Barba was banned before he came here and the RFL respected the ban imposed by NRL - dont they normally carry the bans over? Out of competion tests are for the governing bodies to deal with as far as i can tell theyve been pretty consistent.'" Evans was tested at the Barcelona open - so in competition. It seems if you can come up with a good excuse you get a reduced ban - hardly consistent. as for Barber that really is stretching the imagination. As Brisbane says if you get caught the punishment needs to be the same regardless of the excuse you come up with.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42171264 Maybe Hardaker will only get 3 months too? Double standards?

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/42171264 Maybe Hardaker will only get 3 months too? Double standards?

Alledged cocaine use, a bit vague, Seems to me that's he has been caught internally so internal,discipline matter, not the same as being caught by WADA after an official drug test. That's a standard 2 years for banned performances enhancer.