French farce as De Villiers is cleared

The Pieter de Villiers affair descended into a French farce yesterday as the prop, who tested positive for ecstasy and cocaine, escaped scot-free.

Far from banning their 30-year-old on the day when a world congress on doping in sport drew up a tough new code, a French Rugby Federation hearing in Paris cleared the player of any wrong-doing on a technicality.

His lawyer, Patricia Moyoersen, argued successfully that there was no provision under French law to carry out random tests for cocaine and ecstasy 'out of competition', unless the rugby authorities had requested such a test, which they did not.

The test, taken four days after De Villiers' club Stade Francais had won a European tie against Harlequins, was therefore deemed to have been illegal. De Villiers has always protested his innocence, claiming that his drinks on a Saturday night out in Paris had been spiked.

'I am relieved,' he said. 'The last few weeks have been very difficult.'

France coach Bernard Laporte responded to the scandal by omitting his premier tighthead prop from the games against England and Scotland as well as Ireland this weekend.

De Villiers has carried on playing for his club, but he is unlikely to be recalled for France until the pre-World Cup friendlies, which end with England at Twickenham in September.