A Manawatu representative rugby player has been handed a two-year ban from the sport after a positive test for methamphetamine.
Aroha Nuku, who played for the Manawatu Cyclones in last year's Farah Palmer Cup, tested positive for the substance after the side's match against Waikato in September, and testing of the 'B Sample' confirmed the finding.
Nuku told the New Zealand Rugby Committee she took a white powder she believed was Ritalin in order to stay awake on a late night drive from Palmerston North to her home in Opunake, Taranaki, earlier in the week.
Drug Free Sport New Zealand noted in Nuku's hearing that she had attended a mandatory DFSNZ seminar earlier that season and, on the night she was drug tested, she declared the use of two supplements and hay fever tablets, but did not declare the use of Ritalin earlier that week.
Methamphetamine and amphetamine are non-specified substances prohibited in-competition under S6a (Stimulants) of the Prohibited List 2017.
Ritalin is also a prohibited drug in sport, and Drug Free Sport New Zealand chief executive Nick Paterson said it was reckless of Nuku to take an unknown white powder.
"This is yet another cautionary tale for other athletes and their support personnel to be extremely mindful of what substances they are taking. Athletes are 100 percent responsible for what they put into their bodies," Paterson said.
"Ms Nuku received anti-doping education at the beginning of the 2017 rugby season and a range of 2017 clean sport collateral was available at the education seminar. We are disappointed that she took the white powder she was offered, especially as she would have been aware of the risks involved."
Nuku's ban has been backdated to 22 September, 2017.