The 2007 Rugby World Cup in France was a "clean" tournament, the International Rugby Board announced on Tuesday after tests taken during the event for human growth hormone (hGH) all proved negative.

Blood samples taken in out of competition tests while the World Cup was in progress had been frozen and stored at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Paris for future testing and detection while WADA fine-tuned the new test for the detection of hGH.

IRB anti-doping manager Tim Ricketts said: "Last year it was announced that the 192 tournament urine controls were negative and today's blood analysis results confirm that France 2007 was 100 per cent clean.

"The IRB will continue to monitor the developments in blood testing and the prohibited substances that can be detected via this testing," Ricketts added.

The global rugby union governing body's announcement came a week after England prop Matt Stevens revealed he'd tested positive for a recreational drug, believed to be cocaine, following Bath's European Cup win over Glasgow on December 7 last year.

South Africa-born front-row Stevens, 26, who was suspended from all competitions and dropped from England's squad for the upcoming Six Nations, now faces the prospect of a two-year ban.

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