[/floatl]Mainichi: Japan rugby player positive for marijuana
A native Tongan member of Japan's national rugby team tested positive for marijuana and other substances last month, the Japan Rugby Football Union said Thursday. Christian Loamanu, a 22-year-old, tested positive for marijuana and other chemical substances in a drug test administered by Japan's anti-doping agency on Jan. 12. The fullback, who has denied using marijuana, will not be allowed to play for Toshiba in Sunday's domestic league final against Sanyo, the JRFU said in a statement. Loamanu's A sample returned a positive result. Should his B sample produce the same result he faces a ban from Japan's national team.
Loamanu was arrested on an assault charge a few years ago and is known in rugby circles as something of a loose cannon. Last year, Australian Simon Kasprowicz tested positive for drug use just after the Russian rikishi affair broke so Loamanu is not the first foreign rugby player to be caught Kasprowicz promptly left the country so there were no follow-up tests or sanctions and the police file remains open. Of course, this panic about marijuana use originated in Januarly 2008 with the arrest of two Japanese rugby players at Kanto Gakuin University. Rugby is having a bad run at the moment: another Tongan, Vivili Iongi, was arrested earlier this year for robbing a taxi driver.
