Bloodgate A Rugby Scandal With Looselips

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They call it a scandal and I would just call it cheating slightly. A scandal to me is when someone does something wrong or illegal and it works and it is then uncovered. This didn't work in the end so it was a failed attempt at cheating.

The match in question was a Heineken Cup quarter final match between Harlequins and Leinster. This is I suppose the equivalent of a Champions League game with far less money involved.

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Teams are allowed 8 substitutes who sit on the bench until they are called into action. Once an injured player is replaced it is rare for that player to come back on again. In this particular match this indeed happened and the coaching and medical staff were all caught up in it and I take my hat off to them for trying.

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Nick Evans was the whole reason why this happened.

Nick Evans was the first player to get injured in the second half and he had received a knock to his thigh. Serious enough to get him replaced. Nick was their goal kicker and another kicker came on to replace him namely a player called Chris Malone. Malone tore his hamstring 20 minutes later forcing the coach to send on another back line player called Tony Williams.

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Dean Richards the master mind. The blood doesn't even look real.

The score was 6-5 and there was nothing between the two teams. Mike Brown was the only player left who could possibly kick a rugby ball and he missed a simple opportunity. Harlequins needed a kicker on the field urgently if they were going to steal this game.

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Dr Wendy Chapman had to cut the players lip otherwise there was no injury.

This is the clever part of the plan as the only way they can get a kicker back onto the field is using a temporary blood replacement. Nick Evans can come back on if a player is bleeding until they stitch the player up and stop the flow of blood.

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Real injury with real blood.

Tony Williams dropped to the floor holding his mouth and it showed blood pouring out. He wasn't injured but had popped a fake blood capsule in his mouth and chewed on it. Lets hope it was strawberry flavored but it looked realistic at the time.

The teams doctor Wendy Chapman took the player off the field and Nick Evans went back on and squandered a drop goal attempt to win the match. Wendy then went on to purposely cut Williams lip proving there in fact was an injury.

Too many people knew apparently and word soon spread at what had transpired leaving resignations and suspensions throughout the coaching staff. Wendy was suspended for cutting a lip that was perfectly fine. After her hearing she was allowed to continue practicing medicine.

Dean Richards the head coach was suspended by the Rugby Union and banned from coaching rugby world wide for 3 years. He had planned it ,but too many people knew. He was an ex policeman before turning to rugby full time. The teams physio was banned for two years and finally the club chairman resigned.

The club was fined 260 000 Pounds and received no further action. The Heineken Cup didn't add any more punishment as enough had already been done. This could have worked like a charm if only one or two people knew about it. Just goes to show you that not everything is as it might seem sometimes.