Stevens vows to return 'better'

Advertisement

I was relieved to be caught - Stevens

England prop Matt Stevens believes he can return to rugby a better player once he has completed a two-year ban for testing positive for cocaine.

Stevens, 26, suspended until January 2011, will resign from his Bath club deal rather than waiting to be sacked.

"I hope with every grain of my soul, that I will be able to come back and be a better rugby player than I was, and I think I will be," he told BBC 5 Live.

"There's a sense of relief that I can get fixed and stop abusing myself."

It emerged on 21 January that Stevens tested positive following Bath's Heineken Cup game against Glasgow in December.

In an interview to be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live at 1930 GMT on Thursday, he revealed he turned to drugs and drink as an escape from the pressure of professional rugby.

You don't know if you're never going to do it again and it's a horrible monkey on your back Matt Stevens

"You spend three or four days after a game recovering from what is basically the equivalent of two car crashes," he said.

"I dealt with it the wrong way. I went out and binge drunk but it got to a point where I wanted to get away from everything, and the one way I could do that was by taking cocaine and it got progressively worse."

Stevens made his debut for England against New Zealand in 2004 and has won 32 caps, playing in the 2007 World Cup. He was also a member of the 2005 Lions squad that toured New Zealand.

But his ban will rule him out of this summer's Lions tour to his native South Africa, and he faces an uphill battle to re-establish himself in time for the 2011 World Cup.

During his suspension Stevens plans to run the Bath half-marathon for charity and concentrate on business interests. He intends to open a cafe in Bath city centre in April or May with fellow England international Lee Mears.

606: DEBATE Although I still think he was stupid and deserves the ban I can't help but feel sad for him bestrugbyplayerever

But with the loss of his income from rugby, in which he is not allowed involvement at any level while he is banned, Stevens is selling his house.

Over the next two years his main focus will be on his rehabilitation to overcome his drug addiction, which he admits will be a struggle.

But despite the prospect of not playing rugby for two years, the South Africa-born prop insists that, having come to terms with his addiction, he has been happier over the past five weeks than he has been in years.

"It's something that you just have to live with now," he added. "You don't know if you're never going to do it again and it's a horrible monkey on your back.

"Luckily because of this test I've caught it before it ruins my life completely.

"Obviously it has in some senses but I'm not laying on some street corner, I've not lost my family and friends because they have given up on me. I think everyone has not given up on me and that's a great thing to have."

Listen to the full Matt Stevens interview with Matt Dawson on Five Live Sport at 1930 GMT on Thursday, 5 March

• Nail fungus treatment
• payday loans in arizona