New Zealand's top rugby players are being taught to fend off the amorous advances of female fans and to identify drug utensils in training courses aimed at saving them from embarrassing headlines, a Sunday newspaper has reported.

The New Zealand Rugby Players Association has hired a risk-management company to teach players means to avoid the pitfalls of their celebrity, the Sunday Star-Times said.

In role-playing sessions and other practical demonstrations, players are shown how to identify drug equipment such as methamphetamine pipes and to politely decline amorous approaches from star-struck fans.

"Players have already told me in private conversations that they are being put in potentially compromising positions at parties and in other social settings where drugs are present," NZRPA chief executive Rob Nichol said.

"We have been teaching our guys about the dangers of alcohol for some time.

"But we thought, even though it's a controversial subject, that it would be prudent to move with the times and make sure our guys have the tools to make good decisions if they are ever at a party where drugs are being passed around."

David Tomoana of Core Dynamics, the company carrying out the training, said it taught top sportspeople to recognise danger signs and avoid getting into trouble.

"One hour they are gladiators, a half-hour later they are expected to be model citizens," he said.

"It's not an easy existence, so they need as much help as they can get."

Nichol said comments from players suggested the training had already helped some avoid potentially troublesome incidents.

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