Dubai: It's a sad but incontrovertible truth that anti-doping agencies are as central to the modern sporting landscape as sponsorship deals and big-bucks TV contracts.
But while the war against drug cheats appears certain to rage until the day when man's competitive instinct is removed by a mad scientific attempt at DNA alteration, it is reassuring to know that, in rugby at least, impressive progress is being made to keep things clean.
Tim Ricketts takes plenty of satisfaction from the rigorous testing procedures he has put in place since being appointed the IRB's Anti-Doping Manager in 2002.
Last year, for example, the sport's ruling body conducted just over 1,100 tests at international level covering senior, age grade and sevens representative teams, both in and out of competition.
Impressive record
And although just three violations were recorded from that total, Ricketts continues to strive for the 100 per cent clean record that has been recorded at the IRB's Under-19 World Championship since he came on board after previously acting as the co-coordinator of doping control for the Sydney Olympics.
Some 650 tests were conducted at the age group event from 2002 through to 2005 while a total of 200 players will have been tested in Dubai and Sharjah before the current tournament ends on April 21.
But while Ricketts is pleased with that record, he's certainly not in any kind of comfort zone as he looks ahead.
The 34-year-old Australian said: "It looks good for the future of the game and gets these guys off on the right foot.
"But, for us, one positive test is one too many. It's very important to have a zero tolerance level."
For Ricketts, success at under 19 level is crucial to keeping rugby clean further down the line.
He said: "There is a lot of pressure on players to achieve at this level. To get here, they have to have good skills and talent but in some cases they're not professional or even semi-professional."
