World Cup star BANNED for doping as World Rugby intervene

The 33-year-old tested positive for elevated levels of 19-norandrosterone, a marker for the banned anabolic steroid nandrolone, during a test carried out before the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The concentration was found to be almost four times the permitted limit.

Vui represented Samoa at the tournament but was suspended by World Rugby during the competition in September 2023. He has consistently denied knowingly taking a prohibited substance.

After joining Bristol Bears in 2017, Vui made more than 100 appearances for the club. He had signed a contract extension in February 2022 that was due to keep him at Bristol until 2026.

However, the deal was terminated in September 2023 following the positive test, and he has not played professional rugby since while pursuing a series of appeals.

Vui's legal team argued that the positive result was caused by contaminated supplements and also raised concerns about the testing process. They presented polygraph test results, character references, and evidence that Vui had returned nine negative drug tests over the previous seven years.

Despite those submissions, both World Rugby's Judicial Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeals and upheld the suspension.

In its decision, the Judicial Committee said Vui's claim of supplement contamination was "too speculative and too lacking in hard evidence."

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