There seems to have been seldom a moment when a dark cloud of some sort hasn’t lingered over English rugby in the last ten months.

Last April saw the abysmal handling of Brian Ashton’s departure from Twickenham before his successor, Martin Johnson, was left watching from afar as some of his players were accused of a serious sexual assault in New Zealand that summer.

Fears over what could emerge only eased after a lengthy investigation by the RFU and the decision of the complainant not to take the matter further.

With those memories fading, earlier this month another of Johnson’s elite squad, Mike Tindall, was banned from the roads for three years after a drink-driving offence.

And now Matt Stevens’ frank and, frankly, difficult to watch TV confession to a drugs problem following a positive test has plunged the highest level of the game into darkness again.

Internet message boards and newspaper columns have already begun searching for reasons why Stevens turned to drugs and many have argued the toss as to whether testing should even cover the use of non-performance enhancing substances.

If being a lonely young man in a city far from home and with a higher than average disposable income is the root cause of Stevens’ downfall, then his is the tip of a gargantuan iceberg in sport and wider society.

That alone makes the opinions of those who would rather see drugs of a non-performance enhancing nature wiped from the testers’ lists seem foolish in the extreme.

It was a day when events in Washington gobbled up far more air time and column inches than the admission of a failed drugs test by a relatively unknown sportsman, but there was one line from Barack Obama those responsible for handing out Stevens’ punishment - and those who report his wrongdoings - might like to dwell on: “People will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.”

A two-year ban seems the likely outcome for Stevens which will make him 28 when he is eligible to play again, more than enough time for Stevens and those around him to rebuild a player we were all expecting to become a key part of a side that has the potential to be the world’s best.

Stevens can return stronger from this. He made a mistake and deserves his punishment, but he shouldn’t be destroyed. He should be given the chance to put it right.