Yorkshire Carnegie's Staples gets four-year doping ban

The 20-year-old Staples was tested on Aug. 9 last year and provisionally suspended on Sept. 7 after his sample returned an adverse analytical finding.

He is the first player to test positive for a performance enhancing substance in English professional rugby since 2011, the RFU said.

Staples said the adverse finding was the result of him consuming a nutritional drink while on holiday. An independent national anti-doping panel has suspended him until Sept. 6, 2021.

"Ultimately individuals are responsible for what they put into their bodies and this case highlights what can happen if a player is not vigilant," Stephen Watkins, RFU Anti-Doping and Illicit Drugs Programme Manager, said in a statement.

Yorkshire Carnegie are sixth in the 12-team RFU Championship, the second-tier of English rugby.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings; Editing by Ken Ferris)