Bloodgate was a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

scandal involving English team Harlequins in their

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

quarter-final against Irish side

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

on 12 April 2009. Harlequins wing Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harlequins to make another substitution late in the game. The incident resulted in bans for Williams, director of rugby Dean Richards and physiotherapist Steph Brennan, as well as a fine for the club. It has been described as "rugby's biggest scandal".

Events

Seven minutes into the second half of their

2008–09 Heineken Cup The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield Sta ...

quarter-final against Leinster, Harlequins fly-half Nick Evans suffered a thigh injury and was replaced by

Chris Malone Christopher Malone (born 8 January 1978 in Sydney) is an Australian rugby union coach and a former professional player. Malone is currently an assistant coach with the NSW Waratahs. He was previously head coach of Sydney University and the Sydne ...

. However, Malone tore his hamstring 20 minutes later and was replaced by winger Tom Williams, leaving full-back Mike Brown as the best available kicking option. With eight minutes to play and the score at 6–5 to Leinster, Brown had the chance to give Harlequins the lead from a penalty, but he pushed his kick wide. Williams himself then came off with an apparent blood injury, allowing Evans to return to the field despite having been substituted earlier; however, his late drop goal attempt went wide, and Leinster went on to win the game.

Aftermath

An investigation by the

European Rugby Cup European Rugby Cup Ltd (or ERC) was the governing body and organiser of the two major European rugby union club tournaments; the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup. It was replaced by the European Professional Club Rugby governing body in 2 ...

and the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

revealed that blood injuries had also been faked by Harlequins to enable tactical substitutions on four previous occasions. These findings resulted in a 12-month ban for Williams (reduced to four months on appeal), a three-year ban for former director of rugby Dean Richards and a two-year ban for physiotherapist Steph Brennan, as well as a £260,000 fine for the club. Club chairman Charles Jillings subsequently tendered his resignation, while club doctor Wendy Chapman was suspended by the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...

pending a disciplinary panel hearing into her cutting of Williams' lip to hide his use of the blood capsule.'Bloodgate' doctor is suspended
''BBC News'', 16 September 2009 On 2 September 2009, it was reported that Harlequins had escaped being thrown out of the Heineken Cup following the scandal when the European Rugby Cup board said they approved of the penalties already handed out. Mark Evans, chief executive of Harlequin FC said: Richards resigned from his post at Harlequins over the incident in which it was acknowledged that he had orchestrated and had "central control". He was given a three-year suspension from coaching as punishment. The International Rugby Board (IRB) also confirmed that they would apply the ban to rugby union worldwide. Dr. Chapman, the medic who cut Williams' lip, appeared before the General Medical Council charged with alleged conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute. The appearance resulted in Dr. Chapman being warned but allowed to continue practising medicine.

References

External links

Bloodgate
on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

s website.
How Bloodgate Unfolded
on ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

s website.
Bloodgate Scandal will Forever Haunt Quins
on bbc.co.uk {{Leinster Rugby 2008–09 Heineken Cup Harlequin F.C. Leinster Rugby Rugby union controversies

Bloodgate Bloodgate was a rugby union scandal involving English team Harlequins in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster on 12 April 2009. Harlequins wing Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harl ...

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