Rugby players to get more drug and alcohol education after scrum-half Danny Care's drink-driving charge It's so important to strike the right balance in these matters. These are young men and incidents will occur. They do need education, as well as back-up, and we'll be looking to roll out those programmes that we put in place in the wake of the incidents that occurred three years ago, at Bath for example. In 2008 Bath were at the centre of allegations about drug-taking, with the upshot that several high-profile players left the club. In an earlier episode, England and Saracens prop Matt Stevens, then at Bath, was banned for two years after testing positive for recreational drug use. Hopley is at pains to emphasise that the vast majority of players in the Aviva Premiership lead blameless lives. However, he does recognise that certain core values need to be reaffirmed and players reminded of their public profile. He rejects the notion that there is a drinking culture in professional rugby even though there were incidents in the World Cup as well as the two recent transgressions by Care, both of which triggered police action. "No, I don't believe that there are any deep-rooted issues with alcohol but I have to say that it's notable in this Olympic year that the outstanding athletes in cycling or rowing or track and field don't drink," Hopley said. Our players oughtn't to be pushed into becoming hermits but they do have to understand that there's a bigger picture in play these days. The eyes of the sporting world are on our guys and this latest incident [with Care] can only reinforce the need to behave appropriately. For the most part, they do. But we can't be complacent. Players are in the spotlight like never before. We've banged the drum for years about the need for player education programmes and we'll keep doing that. What happened in the World Cup made us all sit up and take notice. You can see from the strength of feeling expressed by fans as to what went on in New Zealand that they believe that everything in the garden is not rosy, and that's because it isn't. The image of the game was damaged, and we have to recognise that. We've got to provide the resources and tools for these young men to move forward. That's what we'll be focusing on, lending them the right sort of support for the benefit of everyone.