About this episode
Send us a text Alan Dymock is Features Editor of Rugby World Magazine. He specialises in long-reads and detailed studies, as well as stories of far-flung events and quirky characters. In this Deep Dive, we discuss Alan's features on pain killer and performance-enhancing drug use in rugby. Alan's playing background & how he transitioned to journalism Why Alan decided to investigate doping Did Alan have any apprehension about investigating such a thorny issue? Where did the investigation start? Why do players take banned substances? Pain killer use and the slippery slope of their use The advances in medical science that have occurred around pain & how we should be looking to the long term and psychological interventions Issues around Therapeutic Use Exemptions Is there a genuine appetite to catch drug cheats? How we should be looking to prevent use rather than catching cheats Why we need to constantly re-visit the discussion around doping How widespread is doping in rugby? The features we discuss can be found here: Doping in rugby: a Rugby World investigation - https://www.rugbyworld.com/countries/france-countries/doping-rugby-41475 Playing through the pain: an investigation into painkiller use in rugby - https://www.rugbyworld.com/news/blogs/playing-pain-investigation-painkiller-use-rugby-77805 Chronic Pain, Cannabis & Rugby https://www.rugbyworld.com/featured/chronic-pain-cannabis-rugby-113821 All of Alan's investigations can be found here - https://www.rugbyworld.com/tag/investigation Informed Sport Supplement Check Service - https://www.wetestyoutrust.com/ England Rugby Anti Doping & Illicit Drugs - https://www.englandrugby.com/governance/anti-doping-and-illicit-drugs To find out more about this podcast and many others, go to Rugby Coach Weekly To find out more about our Partner Club offer CLICK HERE Also, tap into the library of 4,000 pages of activities, advice, tactics and tips to help you become the best rugby coach you can be!