Rugby - England's Johnson worried about doping at elite level

With 14 out of 42 athletes banned in the past two years by UK Anti-Doping coming from Rugby Union in England and Wales, Johnson believes he has a reason to be worried about the increasing use of banned substances.

(Reuters)

"When I started playing, did I think anyone around the international team was (using drugs)? No chance," Johnson, who led England to 2003 World Cup victory, told the Times.

"Would you be worried about it now? Absolutely. Things are more available, the internet, knowledge of it is more widespread.

"People are taking them, by all account, for vanity reasons."

Johnson, however, said lucrative professional era has been the major contributing factor to the problem.

"Now the game is professional and we live in a different time where kids can see a livelihood and a good livelihood out of doing it, then you've got to be very careful," he added.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)