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Cape Town - Former Springbok Sevens coach and current Stormers defensive coach Paul Treu has been cleared of any wrongdoing by World Rugby following a number of scurrilous allegations that Kenya's Sevens side were doping under his control.
According to Supersport.com, the allegations - made by Kenya's head of the task force on anti-doping, Moni Wekesa in 2014 when he alleged that Kenyan players were using ''a concoction they (the coaches) gave players to drink at the beginning and end of training," and went further by alleging Treu and his fellow coaching team had given these supplements - which Wekesa said contained steroids - to the players.
But an independent Report by World Rugby released late last week confirms that not only was there no truth to the allegations, but there was no base for these allegations either.
The World Rugby investigation has cleared not only Treu - but his fellow coaching team of Vuyo Zangqa and strength and conditioning coach Graham Bentz - as well as Kenya's 15s coach Jerome Paarwater and his team of any wrongdoing.
Yet despite this the matter may not stop there, as Treu is considering legal advice for possible defamation at the claims, which were troubling at the time.
Treu confirmed he was receiving legal advice but was happy that he was exonerated from any wrongdoing, especially as world rugby confirmed the supplements that were suspect were bought by the Kenyan Rugby Union before he was appointed, even though later independent testing showed they contained no banned substances.
"I have consistently said the claims were false, without any basis and far-fetched and it is great to see this finally vindicated by World Rugby. Allegations like this should never be taken lightly as they have the potential to do unmeasurable harm to both the sport and the individuals involved," Treu told supersport.com
"But while I am happy with the outcome I am still waiting for the result in writing from both World Rugby and the Kenyan Rugby Association. I still reserve my rights on this matter and will be consulting legal advice on the way forward."
The comprehensive investigation was undertaken by independent World Rugby Anti-Doping Advisory Committee member Gregor Nicholson and specifically focused on whether there was any evidence to suggest that an anti-doping rule violation had occurred.
Specifically, the World Rugby investigation statement said:
"While the investigation did not identify evidence that an anti-doping rule violation may have been committed, World Rugby continues to work with the Kenya Rugby Football Union to implement robust supplement education to all players and coaching staff via its Keep Rugby Clean programme. Kenyan players will also be tested extensively as part of the World Rugby anti-doping programme and in particular its pre-Olympic testing programme for participating unions and players."
There has been no response from Wekesa to the report.
