Former Wales scrumhalf Rhys Webb suspended after positive dope test

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrumhalf Rhys Webb has tested positive for a growth hormone and could face a potentially career-ending ban, according to French newspaper L'Equipe.

The positive result comes after an unannounced screening understood to have taken place in July by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) and could lead to a four-year ban for the 34-year-old Welshman, should he be found guilty in a hearing on Monday.

According to L'Equipe, it is the first time since 2016 that an athlete has tested positive for using growth hormones in France, which has in the past been difficult to detect until a new scientific breakthrough in 2021 that extends the detection window to around a week.

Mail Sport reported that Webb, who turned down the opportunity to play in the World Cup in favour of joining French second-division club Biarritz, has been temporarily suspended and that the test sample showed only a slight rise in hormone level above what is permitted. He will contest the result.

"The implicated club is presently in a phase of anticipation, pending the course of inquiry," affirmed Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, the president at Biarritz Olympique. 

Webb becomes the second high-profile player in a matter of 24 hours to be at the centre of doping revelations after South African pivot Elton Jantjies' announcement on Saturday that he had tested positive for Clenbuterol, a drug favoured by body builders for its fat-burning properties and by people who suffer from asthma.

Both players ply their trades in club rugby in France. Jantjies, who was released from the Springbok squad before the 33-man World Cup group was announced, plays for second-division team Pau.