Cronulla Sharks star Ben Barba blocked from playing Brisbane Tens
THE Australian Rugby Union have blocked Ben Barba from playing in the Brisbane Tens for Toulon due to his NRL drug ban.
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THE Australian Rugby Union have blocked Ben Barba from playing in the Brisbane Tens for Toulon due to his NRL drug ban.
Barba signed with the mega French club overnight on a 2.5 year contract and he was immediately drafted into the Toulon squad to play in Tens at Suncorp Stadium next week.
It would have seen Barba making his debut rugby appearance in the stadium he called home with the Broncos in 2014.
But that scenario is dead in the water, with the ARU declaring Barba ineligible for the Tens tournament due to his 12-match ban for a positive cocaine test.
ARU boss Bill Pulver confirmed Barba would play no part in the Brisbane Tens.
“There is an agreement among all of the codes that if there are existing sanctions in place in one code and the player chooses to play another code, it is always that we carry those sanctions across,” Mr Pulver said.
A statement from the ARU today said: “Australian Rugby’s policy is to respect and recognise disciplinary action taken by other sports.
“Ben Barba was recently disciplined by both the National Rugby League and his club for illicit drugs offences. Given the serious nature of the misconduct and Australian Rugby’s policy stance, it is inappropriate for Ben Barba to participate in the 2017 Brisbane Global Rugby 10s, which is an ARU-sanctioned event.”
Barba’s suspension came after he recorded a second positive drug test under the NRL Illicit Drug policy.
The ARU, who co-sanction the event, have an agreement with the NRL to observe each other’s suspensions.
The NRL ban won’t stop Barba playing for Toulon in Europe.
Tournament organisers Duco said they’d extended an invitation to Barba to play in the Brisbane Tens but that they were also talking with the ARU about whether he would be eligible.
“We made contact with Toulon but we haven’t had any formal notification from them about them including him in the playing squad for the Tens,” Duco Australia CEO Rachel Carroll said on Thursday morning.
“But we are also seeking advice from the ARU to understand if Ben Barba can play because we understand they have policies around the movement of players between codes. The Brisbane Global rugby tens is an event which comes under a sanction by the ARU.
Fans would be intrigued to see Ben Barba play in the Tens but we need to understand 1) whether he will be selected and 2) if there is any ARU policy that will impact on his ability to play.”
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Originally published as Cronulla Sharks star Ben Barba blocked from playing Brisbane Tens
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