We do not joke with respect for the law in Japan!
Former Australian international Blake Ferguson learned it the hard way… Japanese rugby officials announced on Tuesday that they would subject all players in the national championship to drug tests after the arrest in Tokyo, the last week from Ferguson on a drug case.
After a brawl in a Tokyo pub, the 31-year-old was checked by police for possession of cocaine and "arrested for suspected possession of illegal drugs".
He was immediately dismissed by his club NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu, whose director is Michael Cheika, the former coach of Leinster from 2005 to 2010, of the Stade Français from 2010 to 2012, and former coach of the Wallabies from 2014 to 2019.
Blake Ferguson's week has gone from bad to worse!
👀 # 9WWOShttps: //t.co/ZT1cgLm7HE
- NRL on Nine (@NRLonNine) January 3, 2022
Japan Rugby Federation officials decided to hit hard and said they would start testing all players in all three divisions as early as Wednesday. Or just before the start of the season. Japan Rugby League One director of operations Hajime Shoji said around 1,200 players would be tested for drugs. "We recognize that our lack of thoroughness is a significant factor in the occurrence of this incident," said Mr. Shoji.
Federation officials said they would step up measures against illegal drug use, including issuing guidelines for background checks on new players. The NEC club, for its part, did not wait for this decision to crack down. After firing his player, the club said on Tuesday that they had given drug tests to all their players and also to members of staff. All the results had been negative.
Ferguson, a winger released by Australia's National Rugby League team Parramatta Eels in September, was one of the championship's star rookies.
He was due to make his rugby union debut last weekend in Japan.
A former rugby union player, he switched to the game when he was recruited in November by the NEC club… but his adventure was cut short.
He will not have had time to dispute the slightest minute.