England prop Matt Stevens' career lay in ruins Thursday after he was banned from rugby for two years for using cocaine.

Stevens, who tested positive after his club Bath's European Cup clash with Glasgow in December, received the ban from the tournament organisers after a hearing in Glasgow on Tuesday. He will not be allowed to play again until January 18, 2011.

The news will come as a devastating blow to the 26-year-old, who had hoped that his admission that he used the recreational drug and commitment to seeking treatment would result in a shorter ban.

Stevens, who has won 32 caps for England and would have been an automatic choice for this year's Six Nations, confessed last month that he was struggling with substance abuse.

"Like any drug problem you don't know it's happening and then it mounts up and before you know it you have a problem and an illness," he said.

"It started off with just a couple of nights where you take it after a big night out with your friends. It wasn't a big deal, (but) that's the problem with drugs, it so quickly becomes a big deal."

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