York Rugby League Club coach Dean Robinson has called for changes in drug regulations in the wake of the three month ban imposed on forward Stuart Flowers.

The Wasps boss believes the laws need to be re-examined when taking a common cold remedy could "rob a professional sportsman of his livelihood".

While insisting he does not condone drug taking, Robinson feels Flowers was a victim of shortcomings in the existing drug rules.

And Robinson revealed that he would be seeking negotiations with his former captain about the possibility of returning to Huntington Stadium next season.

Second row forward Flowers was banned from the game for three months after testing positive for the outlawed substance ephedrine.

However, Robinson claimed that Flowers was guilty only of using an "over the counter" cold remedy, available to every member of the public.

"In no way would I condone the taking of an illegal substance within any sport, particularly rugby league which is my life and passion," he said.

"However, I do feel some sympathy for Stuart in the fact that all he has done is to take something that any member of the public can take without any problems whatsoever, to overcome a common ailment and give him a chance of playing on the Sunday.

"The law is the law and it has to be upheld but I think it is a situation that needs to be looked at when something that can be purchased over the counter, as a common cold remedy and a remedy for asthma, robs a professional sportsman of his livelihood."

Robinson called for testing to be updated to differentiate between performance enhancing levels of a drug and smaller levels found in cold remedies.

"With testing done in such a way that it is accurate down to the nth measure, I am certain we can start bringing in various things that are used in everyday life for common colds that would not result in a ban," he said.

"Anything taken in massive doses, the player deserves everything he gets but I believe in today's sophisticated world things such as Day Nurse and Night Nurse levels can be shown to be no more than that.

"It needs to be addressed, there is no place for cheats and I am for blanket testing of rugby league players in this country but we need to be testing for the right things.

"When we have sophisticated equipment that can detect minute particles, I think we can differentiate between what can be taken and what becomes a substance giving someone an advantage."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Sports Council's drug testing service said: "Ephedrine is a stimulant and stimulants are banned because they artificially increase alertness and also increase competitiveness and aggression."

The Wasps are preparing for Sunday's trip to Workington Town with one eye on the treatment table.

Centre Shaun Austerfield is still carrying a hamstring injury and winger Fata Sini has a calf and shin injury, while there are also doubts over Mick Crane and Matt Lambert.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.