A BURNLEY-born rising star of rugby union has been given a six-month ban for using cocaine.

Sale Sharks prop Jake Pope has been punished for becoming the first player to break the sport’s rules on recreational drugs, the Rugby Football Union has announced.

The 21-year-old, a member of England’s Under-20 team in 2017, received a fixed fine of £1,000 later that year when he tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition test.

Under the RFU’s Illicit Drugs Programme, first-time offences are not made public but Pope then tested positive for cannabis and cocaine last November.

He quickly admitted the violation and his case was dealt with by an independent disciplinary panel on February 11.

His ban starts on December 4, the date of his provisional suspension, and runs until June 4.

A former pupil of Burnley St Augustine’s Primary School and Blessed Trinity High School started playing rugby when he joined Burnley Rugby Club aged seven and remained at the Holden Road side until he was 14 before moving to Preston Grasshoppers.

He still has friends at Burnley but it was his move to the Hoppers, where he worked under Steve Hackett from Under 14s to Colts, that put him on the path to county and ultimately national honours.

Pope further developed his game at Myerscough College where he studied a Level Three BTEC in rugby studies.

The player could have been given a 12-month ban but the three-man panel - leading sports lawyer Jeremy Summer, Arsenal and British Lions team doctor Dr Gary O'Driscoll and former England and Wasps player Dr Tom Rees - decided to give Pope the maximum allowed reduction of 50 per cent because of his speedy confession.

In a statement, the governing body's anti-doping and illicit drugs programme manager Stephen Watkins said: "The purpose of the Illicit Drugs Policy is primarily to protect the health and welfare of players. This means that in the first instance, the problem can be dealt with as a confidential health-related issue.

"This is the first time we have had a second offence since the policy was established in 2010. It should send a strong deterrent message to all players that the RFU takes the misuse of substances seriously.

"Players have responsibilities as role models in our sport and therefore have an important part to play in protecting its reputation."