A mixture of indignation, surprise and anger within Irish rugby cricles has greeted the claim by former Irish international Neil Francis that since 1988 Irish players have taken illegal, performance enchancing drugs.

Noel Murphy, the IRFU president, expressed his "alarm" at the accusation, made by Francis in his column in the Sunday Tribune, and called upon the newspaper and Francis to substantiate the former player's claim that "since 1988 members of the Irish rugby squad have taken illegal performance enchancing drugs. Even players performing in the AIL have taken anabolic steroids to improve their efficiency."

Francis, who won 36 caps for Ireland as a number eight or second-row between 1987 and 1996, did not reveal how he knew of this practice or how widespread it was. Unfortunately Francis could not be contacted yesterday.

Donal Lenihan, the current Irish team manager who played with Francis in the Irish pack on a dozen occasions, said: "I saw the article and I thought it was a disgrace. I can honestly say that in all my time as a player I never once came across any player who ever took any performance enhancing drugs.

"He was also casting aspersions on any player who ever played in the Francis era, therefore I am very annoyed about it. What annoys me is that the man in the street could believe that type of thing."

Lenihan recalled being drugtested along with Francis after the 1990 World Cup game against Scotland in Murrayfield. "For him to say that the whole thing was in some way conducted on a laissez faire basis, or infer that he was in some way singled out is absolute rubbish.

"I'm more annoyed about it from my time as a player than I am as Irish manager and I think there'll be a lot of players who'll feel the same way. He's got to substantiate what he's saying and prove that he wasn't just pulling comments out of the sky to keep himself alive in the papers. To draw comparisons with Flo-Jo, and the possibility of her taking drugs, which may or may not be a reasonable comment, is totally unfair on the players he played with, and I think he's let a lot of them down."

Last season's Irish captain, Keith Wood, said: "I'd have to say that in all the time I've been playing the game I've never seen or heard of any player who has ever taken anything. I honestly can't think of any instance in relation to Irish rugby."

Dr Donal O'Shaughnessy, who has been on the Irish team's medical staff for the last 10 years and is currently the team doctor, maintained: "In my time with the Irish team, which also took in some of Franno's career, no Irish player has ever taken an illegal substance as far as I know. If you were to examine all of them in the morning not one would come up positive."

Dr O'Shaughnessy pointed out that Irish players were randomly tested at their squad base in Kilkenny prior to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa and twice more in the host country. "I have no doubt whatsoever that every Irish player is totally clean and not one would player would show one iota of an illegal substance tomorrow morning in any test organised by Francis or the Sunday Tribune," he added. In the IRFU's statement, the Union said it condemned the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs and supported "the Irish Sports' Council's plans to introduce a national testing programme for the Republic of Ireland". The Union is also producing a handbook highlighting "drug control regulations and medications that are not permitted. It is in the process of being distributed to all clubs".

The statement concluded by stating that "the president awaits receipt by the IRFU of substantiation of the serious accusations outlined in the Sunday Tribune by Mr Francis".