Paul Kimmage has appeared on RTE Radio 1's Today with Sean O'Rourke with former international Trevor Hogan and Shane Byrne.
In a fascinating and heated debate, both former internationals Hogan and Byrne were keen to differentiate the differences between necessary supplements and illegal doping. Shane Byrne wanted to stress that if there is a problem with illegal doping in rugby that it needed to be stamped out immediately.
Trevor Hogan often acted as a mediator between Kimmage and Byrne over what the core issue of the problem facing rugby is. This is despite Byrne's insistence that if Paul Kimmage is getting involved in an investigation that it's likely there is "meat on the bone" for the problem.
Byrne thinks it would be difficult to hide doping with all the testing, but Kimmage, coming from the disaster zone that is professional cycling isn't do sure.
Kimmage's concerns include the high number of positive tests amongst youngsters in South Africa and that 1/3 of all drug related suspensions in the UK are from rugby. He feels that the pressure to get bigger from the top is leading to the core of the problem, yet Hogan and Byrne are keen to stress that most of the issues are at lower levels of the sport.
Trevor Hogan was adament that there is no omerta in rugby, and that if players engage in illegal doping that it is usually on their own. He fears the growing "Geordie Shore" culture and fascination with body types is contributing to the probably in sport by glorifying steroids.
