SYDNEY, June 15 -- Henry O'Donnell took the medication he is prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and it cost him eighteen months of his career. The 23-year-old NSW Waratahs centre has accepted a doping suspension that keeps him out of rugby until the start of 2027, not because anyone believes he was cheating, but because the paperwork that would have made the medication legal was not in place when he was tested.

The substances that ended his season were D-amphetamine and Ritalinic Acid, both associated with ADHD treatment, picked up in an in-competition test in May 2025. O'Donnell did not hold a Therapeutic Use Exemption, the formal sign-off that allows an athlete to take an otherwise banned medication for a genuine ...