THE Rugby Football Union insists its anti-doping programme is robust despite saying today that a Premiership player can go an entire season without being tested.

Figures for the 2016-17 season, published by the governing body today, revealed that a total of 623 tests uncovered no violations within the professional game in England.

However, while England stars are typically required to return samples eight to 12 times each campaign across club and international duty, that figure drops to as low as zero for a Premiership player.