MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian rugby will look to strengthen its anti-doping regime and boost investment in testing in the wake of an explosive government report on the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sports Down Under.

Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief Bill Pulver told Reuters he was relieved his code was not in the firing line of investigations which have rocked rugby league and Australian Rules football, but said it could ill afford to be complacent.

MELBOURNE, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Australian rugby will look to strengthen its anti-doping regime and boost investment in testing in the wake of an explosive government report on the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sports Down Under.

Australian Rugby Union (ARU) chief Bill Pulver told Reuters he was relieved his code was not in the firing line of investigations which have rocked rugby league and Australian Rules football, but said it could ill afford to be complacent.

MELBOURNE, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The British and Irish Lions tour at the sharp end of the Super Rugby season means it is going to be an uphill battle for Australia to get more than their one guaranteed team into the playoffs this year.

The arrival of the fabled red-shirted tourists may have Australia’s finest playing out of their skins in the hope of winning a green and gold jersey, but national duty will rob the five teams of their top players just when they need them most.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Anti-doping officials have met with six top-flight Australian rugby league clubs named in a national probe into the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs that has sent shockwaves through the sports-mad country.

The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency (ASADA) briefed National Rugby league (NRL) clubs Manly, Cronulla, Newcastle, Penrith, North Queensland and Canberra on their investigation process on Tuesday after the clubs confirmed they were under scrutiny in the wake of an explosive report released last week.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Six Australian rugby league clubs have confirmed they are under investigation by anti-doping authorities in the wake of an explosive government report into the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sports Down Under.

The clubs Manly, Cronulla, Newcastle, Penrith, North Queensland and Canberra were informed by governing body, the National Rugby League, that they were named in the report, the teams said on their websites on Tuesday.

MELBOURNE, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Six Australian rugby league clubs have confirmed they are under investigation by anti-doping authorities in the wake of an explosive government report into the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in sports Down Under.

The clubs Manly, Cronulla, Newcastle, Penrith, North Queensland and Canberra were informed by governing body, the National Rugby League, that they were named in the report, the teams said on their websites on Tuesday.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Former All Black Sonny Bill Williams’s boxing career plumbed a new depth of farce on Friday when he claimed a controversial victory over a middle-aged South African who had him on the ropes before the bout was cut short by two rounds.

The 27-year-old was in trouble at the end of his sixth professional fight in Brisbane against 44-year-old Francois Botha, and jeers rang out from the crowd when he was announced winner after 10 rounds.

MELBOURNE, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Former All Black Sonny Bill Williams’s boxing career plumbed a new depth of farce on Friday when he claimed a controversial victory over a middle-aged South African who had him on the ropes before the bout was cut short by two rounds.

The 27-year-old was in trouble at the end of his sixth professional fight in Brisbane against 44-year-old Francois Botha, and jeers rang out from the crowd when he was announced winner after 10 rounds.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian sports administrators responded angrily to a government report saying doping was widespread among professional and amateur athletes and demanded investigators name offenders to protect clean athletes’ reputations.

The report released on Thursday, the result of a year-long probe by Australia’s top criminal intelligence unit, said players and teams from several sports codes were implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but withheld names for legal reasons.

MELBOURNE, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Australian sports administrators responded angrily to a government report saying doping was widespread among professional and amateur athletes and demanded investigators name offenders to protect clean athletes’ reputations.

The report released on Thursday, the result of a year-long probe by Australia’s top criminal intelligence unit, said players and teams from several sports codes were implicated in the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but withheld names for legal reasons.