‘I was shocked and confused. I wondered if life was worth living’: Former Bristol star CHRIS VUI on his failed drug test, ‘putting my pride aside’ to become a truck driver and the ‘crazy’ fight to clear his name

Chris Vui’s routine is very different these days. Gone are the hourly schedule and healthy salary previously provided to him by Bristol and all the comforts that came with a life in professional rugby.

As captain of Samoa and a lock with more than 100 Bears appearances, Vui was living his dream until his world was turned upside down by a positive drugs test in 2023.

Vui has always denied knowingly taking a prohibited substance. But in July, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a four-year ban after he appealed against World Rugby’s ruling.

Vui now leads a new life as a truck driver, leaving his house in Bristol at 3.30am each day for a 4am start at the lorry depot. His delivery work takes him all over the country.

‘They are long shifts – 12-hour days,’ Vui says. ‘It’s not the healthiest lifestyle. A truck driver’s diet is all sugar – Coke, pastries, pasties and crisps. I’ve tried to stay disciplined and have taken up running.

‘When you’re a professional athlete, you’re given everything on a plate. It’s a privileged life and when all those privileges are taken away, all of a sudden, you’re in the real world. I’ve had to put my pride aside and find a job to feed my family.’

For the past three years, legal restrictions have meant Vui has been unable to tell his story. Now, he has explained his disappearance from rugby’s elite level for the first time to Daily Mail Sport.

All was rosy in Vui’s garden at the last World Cup in France in 2023. On the eve of skippering a crunch pool game with Japan, the now 33-year-old was preparing with a traditional loku – a Samoan prayer – when he was called to a meeting by his coach Seilala Mapusua.

‘He told me about the positive test,’ Vui recalls. ‘I was confused, shocked. I thought it was a joke. But his tone got more serious and I realised he was telling the truth. I’d never heard of the drug. I was trying to figure out where the hell it could have come from. My initial thought was there had to have been some sort of mistake. I felt lost immediately.’

Vui speaks softly and with a Kiwi lilt in our hour-long conversation. But he is overcome with emotion as he remembers his feelings in that Toulouse hotel room and has to stop to gather himself. ‘Sorry, man,’ he says. ‘It’s tough to go back to that moment.’ He then insists unequivocally when pressed: ‘I did not take a banned substance.’

Sent back to Bristol the next morning, Vui then began his search for an explanation. ‘No one knew what to do,’ he admits. ‘I was left to figure it out myself. There is no real process to follow when you get notified of a positive drugs test.’

Vui’s positive test dated back to an August training camp in Samoa. A subsequent test taken at the World Cup in France was negative.

‘When I’m in Samoa, I usually do a pescetarian diet because the meat there can be quite fatty and poor quality,’ Vui says. ‘But for that one camp, I got advised that using supplements would help. The drug levels were consistent with supplement cross-contamination because they were small. I believe the positive test came from the supplements.’

Vui tested positive for an indicator for the steroid nandrolone, but he still can’t be 100 per cent certain as to the source.

He claims that his case had been prejudiced by delays as he was not notified of his positive test until 57 days after he had provided his urine sample in Samoa. Vui says that meant he was unable to test the supplements he had been using as they were no longer available.

Vui and his lawyers requested a B sample from the August 2023 test and are still unhappy about that process.

Vui is also appealing the CAS verdict. He has already spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on legal fees in a bid to prove his innocence. That process has included a voluntary lie detector test as well as hair and nail sample analysis. None of it has been able to overturn the World Rugby and World Anti-Doping Agency verdict.

Vui remains banned and unable to play rugby until June 2027. ‘I always told myself I was mentally strong. But, man, you’re never prepared for something like that,’ he says. ‘Never in my wildest dreams did I think my career would be put on hold or finished because of a positive drug test. I’d think about it happening due to an injury or maybe even death before that.

‘Sometimes, I wondered whether life was worth living. I can laugh about it now, but there were very dark times.

‘I had just signed a four-year deal with Bristol and it was the most money I’d been on. All of a sudden, boom. Gone. I still had a mortgage, family responsibilities and responsibilities where I come from. Legal fees aren’t cheap. You want to get the best lawyers. There was depression and anxiety in public because no one knew where I was.

‘In my favourite local bakery, people would look at me weirdly and a bit confused. I felt like I was stuck in these four walls.’

Vui credits the support of his wife Karen and Samoan parents Seta and Kay for getting him through. Bristol boss Pat Lam was also a supporter, making regular visits to the Vui family home for dinner. The Rugby Players’ Association arranged for Vui to see a therapist.

‘When I told my wife on the phone from Toulouse, we ended up crying,’ Vui says. ‘A lot of the things I did in rugby were to make my parents proud. I bought them a house in New Zealand. That was a dream of mine. It was tough for my dad.

‘The first thing he said was: “Did you do it?” I said: “No, Dad. I don’t know where it’s come from. I’ve never heard of it.” He went: “All right. Then don’t act like you did and keep your head high.”

‘I believe in clean sport and the fight against doping. I’d be an idiot if I said I believed all athletes are innocent. There are some who choose to cheat, but I didn’t. It’s crazy. You can always earn more money, but you can’t get the damage to your reputation back.’

Vui holds no grievances with Bristol or Samoa and still loves living in the city he’s made his home since 2017.

The arrival of Vui’s son Cole last year was a moment of light, completing the family of four along with his daughter Kaylen. 

Vui is now in a good place and determined to use his experience to help others. He has begun the process of fundraising to produce a film entitled Spiked, which aims to show the dangers for athletes of supplement cross contamination and the fact that not all products are batch tested, as many companies claim.

In Vui’s home, there is no clue as to his former life as a rugby star. The mementos, pictures and shirts have all been taken down. ‘In the past, if I’ve thought too much about where I was and where I am now, it has sent me into a spiral,’ Vui says. ‘If you dwell on those things, it can eat away at you. I’ll always have a bit of regret if my time in rugby doesn’t finish on my terms. I can’t just give up.

‘I know it will be hard as I’ve been out for many years, but I still think I can play at a high level. I miss rugby.’

Vui’s former Bristol team-mates and England internationals Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler have been among those to show him support, as have Samoan international brothers Jordan and James Lay.

At his lowest moment, Vui found out who his real friends were. Those who he thought were close to him went quiet. He received help from unexpected places. As our conversation moves to a nearby coffee shop, Vui stresses that any form of cheating is considered abhorrent in Samoan culture. 

In the Pacific Islands, pride in your family name is absolute. Vui insists he would never sully his or his father’s reputation.

‘There should be more awareness around the issues I’ve experienced,’ Vui says. ‘All people read about is my ban, but they don’t read the CAS decision and the finer details. There are questions to be asked about rugby’s testing procedures. The most important thing is I’m doing OK now.

‘If you put your mind to it and have the right people around you, you can figure things out and enjoy a great life. Whatever happens. That’s what I’m trying to do. My fight goes on.’