On this day in 2009, England prop Matt Stevens received a two-year ban for failing a drugs test.
A month earlier, Stevens had tested positive for cocaine, leading to him being withdrawn from Bath’s squad to face Glasgow in the Heineken Cup, then being pulled out of England’s squad for the Six Nations.
Stevens, 26 at the time, admitted to taking a prohibited substance and revealed he had been attending drug counselling sessions as his substance abuse had become a major problem.
In an interview with the BBC, Stevens said: “It is a very serious substance and something over a period of time I have realised I have an issue with, something I think has basically ruined my life up until this point.”
Following his ban, Stevens announced he was quitting Bath before they sacked him, tearing up a contract he had signed the previous January which was due to run until 2012.
In January 2010 it was announced he would join Saracens at the end of his ban in early 2011.
He made his Test return for England against Wales in August 2011, the first of 12 caps he earned following his suspension.
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