All Blacks coach alarmed at sleeping pill abuse
Print Edition
SLEEPING pill abuse is emerging as a major problem among elite athletes and rugby union cannot afford to ignore the issue, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen warned yesterday.
Hansen was speaking after the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) revealed last week that All Blacks Cory Jane and Israel Dagg took prescription sleeping pills while on a night out in Auckland during the 2011 World Cup.
He said such behavior was particularly concerning when the pills were mixed with energy drinks — a combination that reportedly achieves an amphetamine-like high without breaching doping rules.
“The sleeping pills and the fizzy drink and the alcohol, if you keep continually doing it, is going to be harmful,” Hansen told commercial radio.
“Long term it’s not going to be a great thing for the athlete, and short term it can also create one or two problems with how they behave. That’s not the way the All Blacks want to live.”
Australia’s National Rugby League said last week that it was introducing tests for sleeping pills amid rising concerns about their abuse.
Australian swimming great Grant Hackett sought treatment last month for addiction to sleeping medication Stilnox.
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