The IRFU has issued a set of guidelines to rugby schools and clubs, warning that no young sports player should be using dietary supplements such as creatine. They say that such supplements may contain banned or even harmful substances, and manufacturers claims are often not backed up by scientific research.

Jonathan was joined on Newstalk Lunchtime now by former Irish, Leinster and Lions player Eric Miller. Eric explained "young kids like to emulate their heroes, and there are more heroes nowadays in rugby. They're obviously trying to follow, almost naively, [their heroes], and trying to gain any edge they can. I thank the IRFU for coming out finally on that today. Certainly it's something schools have been struggling with in recent years."

In terms of professional players, Eric explains "I don't know how widespread it is... from my knowledge it hasn't been across the board as an epidemic. But I'd certainly question certain individuals about how they got the product and what they perceived the product as giving them."

"It's a huge gamble," Eric continued, and stressed there are many healthier, tested alternatives. "If something is mass produced, it's obviously been questioned already scientifically. There are a lot more better ways of getting the extra protein and supplements you need, but you really do need to delve and ask the right people".

Miller also explained how he tried creatine in his early career, but "didn't find it very helpful at all". He also discussed alternative methods, his own health following the grueling time he spent playing rugby and Sean O'Brien's potential move to France.

You can listen back to the full interview via the player above.