Former St George- Illawarra Dragons star Rangi Chase gets two-year drug ban

Former St George Illawarra halfback Rangi Chase has been banned for two years after testing positive for cocaine while playing in the English Super League.

UK Anti-Doping announced on Thursday morning that the 31-year-old Widnes player would serve the suspension after benzoylecgonine - a metabolite of cocaine - was found in a sample he provided on July 14 .

UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said: "As an experienced rugby league player who has represented both New Zealand Maori and England, as well as Super League clubs Castleford Tigers and Salford Red Devils, Rangi Chase has tarnished his career with this sanction.

"His two-year ban serves as a stark warning to athletes about the very real consequences of taking recreational drugs whilst competing in sport."

Chase is one of three Super League players who tested positive for cocaine during the course of the 2017 season.

Castleford full-back Zak Hardaker was dropped from his team's squad for the Grand Final last month after it emerged he had tested positive following a match in September. The failed test also meant Hardaker missed out on a place in England's World Cup squad.

Wakefield prop Adam Walker failed a test following the same match as Chase and was also suspended by his club.

The suspension will end at midnight on July 13, 2019.

He had been suspended by his club following the positive test, which was conducted after a Super League match against Wakefield.

Chase, a former Man of Steel winner, joined the Vikings after his release by Castleford.

Chase revealed in 2016 that he had been suffering from depression, having left Leigh just six months into a two-year deal.

He insisted at that time he had not quit the game for good and he re-signed for Castleford in July 2016, having first played for the Tigers between 2009 and 2014.

Chase started his career in the NRL with Wests Tigers before a two-year stint with the Dragons in 2007-08. He has played in England ever since.