Winger back in Tune
August 12, 2002

Ben Tune has been cleared to play in the Tri-Nations decider against South Africa despite the drugs tribunal finding he had breached doping rules.

The Wallaby winger was called to appear before the three-man independent tribunal made up by chairman John Gleeson, QC, Dr Geoff Steinweg and former Wallaby John Freedman in North Sydney on Monday night.

Tune and the Australian Rugby Union told the hearing that the player's doctor had prescribed the drug probenicid as treatment for a knee infection Tune suffered in 2001, unaware that the diuretic was a banned substance.

The tribunal ruled after deliberating for more than three-and-a-half hours that while Tune had taken the substance and broken the game's laws, there was no cause to ban him, with a suspension as long as two years available to them if they deemed he deserved it.

"The player took advice of well-respected medical practitioners, including his official team doctor and an experienced orthopedic surgeon, and acted openly and honestly at all times, including notifying the ARU and the Australian Sports Drug Agency that probenecid had been proscribed because it was necessary medically," the tribunal said in a statement. "Accordingly, the tribunal declined to apply a sanction."

With a ticket booked to fly to South Africa on Tuesday morning to join his teammates for the vital clash with the Springboks in Johannesburg, Tune was delighted that the hearing had cleared him.

"I'm very happy. I thought the committee was fantastic. They used their common sense, it went very well," Tune told reporters afterwards. "In hindsight, if we'd dealt with this 15 months ago I'd be in South Africa at the moment, preparing for a Test match.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing and yeah, we should have done this a long time ago, but it's done now and hopefully we can move on."

Tune stood down from the Reds' Super 12 team for four matches until the drug had left his system to prevent a possible failed drugs test, but neither the Queensland Rugby Union or the ARU made the matter public or informed the International Rugby Board.

Tune played for the Wallabies against both South Africa in Brisbane and New Zealand in Sydney in recent Tri-Nations tests, but was stood down from the Australian team last Friday pending the result of the hearing into his case.

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