“THE WALLS WERE CAVING IN”
THE LOOSEHEAD reflects on it now as fuel for an incredible career revival, but there’s no avoiding the unravelling that occurred in 2018 when Wallaby James Slipper was stood down from rugby after testing positive for cocaine.
“It was a period of my life, mate, that I am going to have to live with now,” he begins. When the then-Reds prop was handed a two-month ban, he revealed via social media that he’d been suffering with depression for a year. He had a ragged history with injury and had also received gut-punch news of serious illness in his family. He knows that he did wrong, but also wants to be open.
“I really struggled. It was a really tough time, not just for me but my family as well. One thing I can say is I learnt a lot from that and truly believe I’m a better person
