World Rugby confirms doping breaches involving seven from Georgia national team

The violations were made prior to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and relate to 'an orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs' as well as 'sample substitution' - which is banned under both the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA) and World Rugby's own Anti-Doping rules.

Per an official statement, the seven individuals involved have been charged and sanctioned, but reports from RugbyPass detail that five of them are currently going through the appeals process.

In a statement, the global governing body said: "World Rugby can confirm that a major joint-investigation conducted by World Rugby and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has resulted in anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) being confirmed against six players and one member of the support personnel from the Georgia men's senior national fifteens team. This confirmation follows a public update by WADA today.

"The investigation was triggered when irregularities in urine samples were identified by World Rugby's athlete passport management programme, covering an extended period of time prior to Men's Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. World Rugby alerted WADA immediately and the two bodies worked closely together throughout complex and extensive parallel investigations which featured targeted player testing and DNA analysis by World Rugby, including on historical samples held via World Rugby's long-term storage programme.

"Six players and a member of team support personnel have been charged and sanctioned in relation to an orchestrated scheme involving recreational drugs and sample substitution (a practice prohibited by the WADA Code and the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules).

"While noting WADA's public update, including its parallel investigation relating to the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency, in accordance with the World Rugby Anti-Doping Rules, the international federation is currently unable to make any further comment until the full disciplinary (results management) process has been completed and the outcomes and sanctions are published.

"World Rugby takes all anti-doping matters extremely seriously and is an unwavering champion of clean sport."

Commenting on the investigation, WADA President, Witold BaÃ…„ka, said: "What has been happening in Georgian rugby is outrageous and will send shockwaves through Georgian sport and government, as well as the global game of rugby.

"I want to thank WADA's independent Intelligence & Investigations team for their diligence and expertise in relentlessly pursuing this operation with determination and professionalism. I also praise World Rugby's commitment to uncovering the facts and its willingness to work collaboratively with WADA to deliver this strong result for rugby.

"This is not the end of the story as further investigation is now going on deeper into Georgian sport. WADA has brought Operation Obsidian's findings to the attention of the Government of Georgia to address the issues in the Georgian Anti-Doping Agency.

"As the next steps are being considered, clearly, WADA has lost confidence in GADA's anti-doping program and wholesale changes must now be made by the relevant authorities."

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