Stevens can bounce back - Ashton - Sport in brief

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A two-year ban is highly likely for 26-year-old Stevens, who last week admitted he has a problem with a recreational drug - having failed a test last month.

"He has to sort himself and his lifestyle out," Ashton told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek. "I think there is a way back for him. It is a question of whether he wants to find that way back."

He added: "He is only 26 years old, so even if he got two years he would be 28 - which is probably a time when most professional rugby players, especially in his position, are beginning to approach their peak performance."

Ashton, also a former coach of Bath, has little doubt about the suspension set to be imposed on Stevens - and he hopes he receives the support he needs.

"There is a precedent set by Wendell Sailor, who got a two-year ban. Everyone in professional sport knows that this sort of thing is not acceptable," Ashton said.

"I think that now he has admitted what he did and that it was wrong, he needs Bath to support him to get back on the right road again.

"As a role model to younger players, it is not the sort of thing you want a professional sportsmen to be doing.

"I hope this will be very much an isolated case."