New Zealand Rugby Union boss Steve Tew has confirmed All Blacks Cory Jane and Israel Dagg misused sleeping pills during their night out at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The pair were reprimanded at the time, after being seen out drinking late at night on Auckland's North Shore in the week leading up to the quarter-final against Argentina.
It had previously been thought the incident only involved alcohol but Tew said management at the time knew sleeping pills were involved, although he did not know how many the players took.
"It wasn't a cover-up. These are private employment matters too, we are bound by reasonably stringent employment legislation," Tew told gathered media at a press conference in Wellington today.
Tew says they were dealt with in 2011, and he remains comfortable that it was dealt with appropriately.
He believed that the players had taken the pills to help them stay out longer.
"At the time we did not see it as a big issue," Mr Tew said. "Those two young men made some poor decisions the week of the quarter-final.
"That issue was dealt with by team management, it was dealt with by the leadership group in the All Blacks at the time, and I was then, and remain confident, that it was dealt with appropriately."
Tew said it wasn't known how many pills the players took, or if they were mixed with energy drinks, but the NZRU didn't know of any other players abusing the drug.
It now plans to survey unions around the country to gauge if the problem is wider.
But he stressed that with the travelling distances involved for modern teams, sleeping pills were a necessity for some players.
The issue of sleeping pills and energy drinks first surfaced in the Rugby League World Cup, and has now been found to have spread to the NRL.
Mr Tew said both players had since redeemed themselves.
Source: ONE News
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