UKAD has issued a two-year ban to Lance Randall and a four-year ban to Jesse Patton, after banned substances were found in their systems.

In Randall's case, he was tested following a Welsh Premiership match between Ebbw Vale and Llanelli in October 2019.

His A sample was analysed, and cocaine was found to be present.

After the UKAD issued Randall with a provisional suspension, he admitted that the cocaine was ingested "out of competition" and in a "context unrelated to sport performance".

Randall's two-year ban was applied from October 26 last year, meaning it is due to expire on October 25 in 2021.

Last month the WRU confirmed the issuing a two-year ban to Mike Burgess after cocaine was found in his system when he was tested following a Welsh Premiership fixture in October 2018.

Stacey Cross, UKAD's deputy director of legal and regulatory affairs said: "Unfortunately, we continue to see cases like Mr Randall’s.

"Cocaine is not banned when used recreationally and out-of-competition. 

"However, it can stay in the body for some time after use. 

"Therefore, athletes need to be aware that if they participate in sport after using cocaine, they could be tested and may face a ban of up to four years, depending on when it was taken."

In Patton's case, UKAD collected a sample during a training session at his club Ystalyfera RFC in September 2019.

The sample was analysed and the presence of metandienone was found, classified as a steroid, and a prohibited substance.

Patton was unable to establish how the metandienone entered his system and as a consequence UKAD could not establish conclusively that his ADRV was not intentional, leading to the issuing of a four year suspension.

He claimed it may have been due to taking a medication given to him by a friend after he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease from a woman he had met while on a rugby tour in July 2019.

"He told me he had medication to help clear it which he had bought online, he then gave me a few tablets and he told me to take them for the next 5 days to clear it," reads a statement from Patton in the written report for the case.

“I thought nothing of it, my irritations had healed and I felt much better. 

"I rang him last week out of curiosity, I asked him what he had given me and did he know if they were safe?

"He said he had ordered them online, he wasn’t sure of the pharmaceutical company that made them, but the tablets were called 'Fluconazole'. 

"I did some google research into this and I found out that 'Methandienone' was a compound that was labelled under the medical umbrella 'Fluconazole'."

The disciplinary panel dismissed Patton's defence as "speculation".

"Our message to athletes is clear," said Cross.

"Steroids and other prohibited substances have no place in sport. 

"If you take the risk, you could be facing a ban from sport as a result."

The ban was applied from November 8 last year, meaning he is suspended until November 7 in 2023.

There are currently 23 rugby union players serving bans issued by UKAD, nine of them in Wales.